It Will Rain: Sequel to Somewhere Only We Know
by Wolf Girl 131313
Summary: Sequel to Somewhere Only We Know. How can things go so wrong for a situation that seemed to finally become so perfect? A love story with Scorpius/Lily, Elle/'Manda, and Hugo/Roland. Rated M for language and gay relationships, just to be safe! Enjoy!
1. Chapter One: Honeybee

**Hey you! If you haven't read Somewhere Only We Know, then go read that right now! That is the first Fanfic in this little series, obviously making this the sequel! If you like my style of writing, go to my profile and read Rumour Has It: Renesmee and Jacob Love Story! Leave reviews please! **

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><p><em><span>Chapter One: Honeybee (Blake Shelton)<span>_

Water engulfed the tall boy completely, becoming the only thing he could see in the world. His stomach made contact with the rough bottom of the pool as he propelled himself towards the long, smooth legs that were treading water an arm-stretch away.

Grabbing the ankle of the long leg, he drug the body underwater. Lily shrieked as she was pulled underwater, struggling to get to the surface again. When she broke into the air she found her boyfriend laughing uncontrollably at her irritated expression.

"You're a dick, you know that?" She tried to walk towards the edge of the giant, indoor pool but Scorpius caught her around the waist, pulling her against him.

He was settled down enough that he was now just grinning like a fool, "Because I haven't heard that one before."

The indoor pool was nestled in the newer portion of the Malfoy Mansion that had been added when Scorpius was in his first year of Hogwarts. It was one of the only parts of his family's home that didn't feel like a prison.

The group of teenagers that had formed during the previous school year was now present at the pool. It was late July and they had had many of these parties throughout the past month and a half.

Scorpius had stopped speaking to his parents a few months into his sixth year because his father hadn't agreed with his choice of who he loved. But when he had gotten off the train in London at the end of school his parents were awaiting his arrival.

After many apologies, Draco Malfoy had let his guard down enough to ask his son to return home. The teen was thrilled at the invitation, partly because he didn't want to intrude on his girlfriend's home any more than he had to. Even spending Christmas Break with them had made him feel like he was intruding, not that they made him feel as such, but he always was a bit paranoid around parents.

His parents now stood with Lily's mother and father, Harry and Ginny Potter, and her aunt and uncle, Ronald and Hermione Weasley. It was strange to see the adults being civil to each other considering that they were enemies of each other during their years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was easy to tell that the conversation taking place was strained, but there was no yelling yet so he was pleased.

A jet of water hit Scorpius square in the face, causing him to turn his attention back to the teenagers in the pool. Roland Stone, his best friend since childhood, held the giant water gun that was trained on Scorpius' face.

Smirking at his prey, Roland shot another stream right into the blonde's face. "Come get me, you little bitch."

A full on battle scene broke out in the middle of the pool, making Lily and her cousin, Hugo, to scramble out of the way. Scorpius slipped under the water in order to escape the "bullets" being shot at him, going straight for Roland's legs.

Soon the two boys were wrestling with each other, dunking their heads under the clear water. It wasn't until the intercom came on above them and the raspy voice of the Malfoy butler cut through the static.

"Miss Elle, you have a phone call from Mr. James Potter awaiting you in the lounge."

That's all it took for Lily's best friend, Elle, to grab Ginny Potter's hand and run towards the lounge. James had let his feelings for his little sister's friend be known at his graduation from Hogwarts a few months prior. They had spent every moment together for a few weeks before he decided to join his uncle George in running the joke shop he had created with his twin before he had been killed in the largest magical battle in history.

Now they took every chance they had to speak to each other on the phone, dropping everything just to hear each other's voices. James and Lily's mother, Ginny, was going through the pains of losing her first baby to adult life and it was taking a serious toll on her.

All the energy had drained out of the wrestling boys and they drifted towards their awaiting partners. Roland had started dating Lily's cousin, Hugo, right after Christmas break when he finally came to terms with his homosexuality.

His arms wrapping around the feminine boy, Roland crushed his lips against Hugo's. He would never get tired of this feeling, the way his entire body would tingle when he felt Hugo pressed up against him made him weak in the knees. They hadn't done much more than kiss, mainly because sex with a guy was new to both of them, but the idea intrigued him.

Breaking away from the intensity of the kiss, the two boys joined the splash fight that was going on between Scorpius, Lily and 'Manda, Lily's quieter best friend.

Albus, the middle Potter child, sat as far away from the splashing as he could, talking to his best friend and cousin, Rose Weasley. They were too uptight to take part in any of the fun going on in the pool, but didn't feel like, as just seventh years, they could fit in with the parents' conversation either.

So, like always, they separated themselves from everyone but each other. Albus watched Scorpius interact with his sister, judging every movement the boy made.

It was a stretch to say that Albus even tolerated the Slytherin boy dating his sister. Honestly, he didn't have a reason to hate the guy except the bad feeling he gave him every time he was around. Which was a lot.

Lily had forced Albus to come to the random pool party they had decided to have. Even though he hadn't wanted to come, he was glad for the chance to try and put his finger on what was off with Scorpius Malfoy.

"What are your plans for the rest of the break?" Harry let his hand fall on the bare shoulder of his daughter's boyfriend as he joined the group of gathered adults. They had become a lot more comfortable with each other over the past 8 months, even though Harry didn't completely trust the boy.

Scorpius opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by his father. "Actually, we are leaving next week to vacation for twelve days in the Caribbean. Scorpius had mentioned that he would love for Lily and Hugo to come with us. If that's something that they're interested in."

The two mentioned teens perked up at the sound of the exotic paradise and their names mentioned in the same sentence. Grabbing onto her father's arm, Lily stared at the side of his face with hope in her eyes. Harry made the mistake of catching eyes with her and then again with Hugo.

"Well that's something that we all need to discuss. Can we get back to you on the decision?"

Draco nodded calmly, "Absolutely. The sooner we know the better, of course."

Hugo and Lily immediately pulled the two sets of parents out into the hallway leading into the main portion of the Mansion. A flurry of words were flung at the adults, neither teenager bothering to stop long enough to breathe. Ron caught eyes with Hermione, trying to wordlessly communicate his concerns.

"Please, Dad! I promise we'll be on our best behavior and I'll call you when we get there. I'll keep you updated on everything if I have to. Please! It's the Caribbean!" Lily's voice rose in pitch with every syllable released out of her mouth.

She wasn't sure which part she was more excited about, the trip itself or getting to spend that much time with Scorpius. It had been a long time since her family had even ventured anywhere out of the everyday places. It was crazy to even think of passing by this opportunity.

"Well, I suppose-" Harry spoke more towards his brother-in-law than his daughter. "If you both go, there shouldn't be any problems. But there is going to be some rules-"

The cousins didn't care, they were already jumping up and down while screaming at the top of their lungs.

Scorpius took the high pitched squeals as a yes. Grinning from ear to ear, he bumped his fist against Roland's. For what they hadn't told the others yet was Roland had decided to go too. Can you say "double date"?

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><p>Roland shoved Hugo against the wall, pressing his warm body against the smaller boy's. Hands on his narrow hips, the brunette let his teeth catch Hugo's ear and suck softly. The suitcases he had been bringing into the bedroom were long forgotten at the open door.<p>

Dropping his face to suck on the pale neck in front of him, Roland let his hands creep under Hugo's silky tank top to run over his stomach. He could feel the pulse in the thin boy's neck against his lips and it quickened as the suction grew more intense.

Fingers dragging up Roland's back, Hugo let out soft moans that he couldn't seem to control. He wasn't sure what had sparked Roland's random urge to make out only two feet in the door, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

That is until his shirt was practically torn off and he was shoved onto the king size bed in the middle of the suite. Roland's mouth was devouring any patch of skin he could reach, moaning savagely as he went.

"Roland- Babe- Come on, stop- I said stop!" Hugo shoved the taller boy off of him after he realized that his pleading would do no good. Snapping back into reality, Roland jumped off the bed.

His eyes wide, apologetic. "Jesus! I'm so sorry."

Hugo smiled shyly, "It's okay. I'm just not ready for that yet." That was the truth but he had really only been worried that if it had gotten to that point, he wouldn't have had the self control to stop Roland from taking him after just five minutes on the island.

Smirking knowingly, Roland winked at the younger boy. "We'll see how you feel after a few drinks."

He was obviously joking. Wasn't he?

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><p>The afternoon sun made the pavement almost unbearable to walk on, even in shoes, and it took all that Lily had not to jump around like an idiot to escape the heat eating at her feet. Before leaving the hotel, she had emptied an entire can of aerosol sunblock on her ridiculously pale skin. She had no interest in getting a sunburn her first day on the beautiful island, as if she wasn't already worried enough about her appearance around Scorpius.<p>

Moments after reaching the condo they would be staying at, the group of six quickly dispersed into mini-groups of two. Scorpius had shoved Lily towards her suitcase, telling her to change into a swimsuit and shorts. Luckily Hugo had packed her suitcase, making everything cute.

But it soon became apparent that his choice of swimsuits was drastically different from hers. Every single one was a bikini that was sure to leave less to the imagination than Lily would have liked, but it was too late to do anything about it.

She had settled for the moderately modest, white bikini and a pair of short, dark denim shorts. Slipping on a pair of light tennis shoes, she had followed Scorpius out of the condo and into the fresh air of the exotic island.

They were now strolling through the crowded streets leading to the many tourist attractions. It never ceased to amaze her how layed back Scorpius was compared to how most rich boys would be. He seemed to know everyone on the island or rather if he didn't, you wouldn't be able to tell from his carefree conversation with everyone that passed.

To her surprise he was proudly holding her hand as they walked, despite her efforts to tell him that it wasn't necessary. It made her happy beyond words, but some part of her wouldn't let it show. She definitely didn't want the beautiful boy to feel obligated to do anything.

"Scorpius! Scorpius Malfoy!" A high pitched voice sounded from behind the couple, causing them both to turn around as a unit. "Is that really you, Scorp? Holy shit, it's been a while!"

Tan, muscular arms flew around Scorpius' neck before Lily could comprehend what was going on. Her hand was immediately let go as he wrapped his arms around the tiny girl, a giant grin spreading across his face. With his eyes closed, he lifted the scantily clad into the air and spun around.

Lily stepped back from the affectionate pair, her brow furrowing in confusion. She had absolutely no clue who this girl was that was hanging on her boyfriend, but it was obvious that they had some kind of history together. Mentally slapping herself as she realized there was a frown set into her pale face, Lily ran a hand through her hair like she always did when she was uncomfortable.

"Cherry, what are you doing here? I thought you moved off of the island two years ago." Scorpius had finally sat her back on her feet and was now holding her at arms length, looking her up and down. "You look great."

Finally getting a good look at the girl Scorpius had called Cherry, Lily felt her self confidence immediately shrink into nothingness. She was around five and a half feet tall, but her smooth, tan legs looked like they went on forever because of the tiny, white shorts she was wearing. Gladiator sandals showed perfectly manicured nails that matched the french tips she had on her fingernails. Long, dirty blonde curls fell over her shoulders and framed a flawless, gorgeous face.

Cherry smiled adoringly up at Scorpius, "I'm back for the summer. It's too hard to be away from this place, you know how it is." Her hand traced Scorpius' abs through his white v-neck.

"Absolutely." That's when he remembered the young girl standing off to the side of them. Pulling Lily to his side, Scorpius grinned openly at his old friend. "Cherry, this is my girlfriend, Lily Potter."

Every time Lily heard that name she winced. Could it get any more slutty than Cherry? She didn't think so. For the first time in a long time, she felt out of place anywhere near the tall boy holding her.

It was irrational for her to switch sides so quickly. After all, he hadn't really done anything but hug a girl he'd obviously met before. But how close were they really?

The blonde's face darkened enough for Lily to notice for half a second, but she played it off well. "It's so good to meet you! You're gorgeous!" Bounding forward, she embraced the unwilling redhead.

"It's nice to meet you too." Lily felt Scorpius' arm constrict around her and she felt a sudden urge to push him away. She didn't though, it would give Cherry too much satisfaction to see her bothered.

Looking towards the way she had come, Cherry scrunched up her nose. "I really should get going. I'm late for a photo shoot-" Of course she was some type of model. "It was really nice to see you, Scorp. If you have any free time, find me."

The last part was more suggestive than it needed to be, adding to Lily's building frustration. With a final hug of both of them, Cherry took off down the sidewalk.

"She makes me laugh. I haven't seen her in a long time-" Scorpius cut off when Lily shoved his arm away from her waist. "What the hell?"

An anger for him had built up inside her so much in the last five minutes, Lily couldn't stand it anymore. They didn't call her a hothead for nothing. "Do me a favor, Malfoy. Don't touch me."

With that, she turned on her heel and took off towards the condos. To her surprise, and relief, he didn't follow.

It was like the old times. Enemies once again.

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><p>The heat of crowded bodies mixed with the amount of alcohol he had consumed made Hugo's head spin. Yet he was laughing uncontrollably at nothing in particular as he leaned against Roland. The boys ground against each other to the beat of the music, neither sober enough to care about the disapproving looks they were getting from the other clubbers.<p>

Roland had decided mid-afternoon that they would sneak out of the condo to hit a few of the clubs along the boardwalk. He didn't want to force Hugo into anything, but maybe getting him looser would set him free enough to go farther than they had before.

Judging by how Hugo was acting towards him, Roland was pretty sure his plan had worked out exactly how he had wanted it to. The great thing about the island they were staying on was, everyone was afraid of Scorpius' family (even without knowing about them being wizards) so they got their way with everything. Roland hadn't even bothered with a fake I.D., he hadn't even been asked for identification at all.

Leaning down to speak roughly into his boyfriend's ear, Roland wrapped his arms around Hugo's waist. "I think it's time to head back, babe. You seem to be having a bit too much fun."

"You're complaining because I'm having fun?"

Running his lips up the side of the younger boy's neck, Roland shook his head. "No, I'm complaining because there's something that's so much more fun that we could be doing back in the room." He held his breath as he waited for a response, fearing it wouldn't be good.

"Well in that case, let's go."

Pushing their way through the dark room, they finally reached the cool crispness of the night air. Stumbling through the empty streets, Hugo was glad that Roland was there to guide him because he would never have gotten home by himself.

They had just reached the corner of the street that the condo was on when they heard the heavy footfall behind them.

"Hey, fags!" A huge hand clapped down on Roland's broad shoulder, spinning him into a hard fist. He hit the pavement before he could even realize what was going on. Two more men appeared behind the one that had punched Roland, grabbing Hugo's thin arms.

Hugo tried to scream but was slapped into silence, his eyes filling with tears as he stared down at the tall boy on the ground. Reaching up to touch his face, Roland pulled his hand back to discover a thick layer of blood coating his shaking fingers. Hugo started bawling hysterically, earning himself a sharp pull of his hair which only made him yelp louder.

This managed to jolt Roland out of his stupor and he stumbled to his feet. "If you value your life you better let him go."

The thinner boy was thrown to the ground and forgotten, not that he was stable enough to take advantage of it. All three of the large men turned to Roland, who suddenly seemed very small but wasn't going to let it show. He suddenly regretted the choice to leave the wands in the condo, it would be a good advantage to have on the muggles.

"What are you gonna do to us, pussy? You aren't even a real man, you're a dick sucker." The first man that had grabbed Roland punched him square in the face, a sickening crack made it suddenly apparent that his nose was broken.

He hit the ground with a thud. Suddenly his worst nightmare was real, he was being jumped for being gay. But it didn't bother him like he thought it would, all he cared about was the crying boy laying just out of reach.

A hard boot kicked Roland in the stomach, causing him to gag as a reflex. More kicks were inflicted to his back and head, it took all he had to not pass out.

"Get the hell off our island, fags."

And then they were gone.

Roland rolled onto his back, groaning loudly. His entire body ached worse than it ever had before. He'd been jumped plenty of times before but no one had gotten the upper hand on him that quickly. Oh who was he kidding, he hadn't had anything but the lower hand in the entire incident.

"I'm so sorry." The weak voice of Hugo, brought back Roland from the edge of subconsciousness. "This is all my fault."

Groaning again as he shifted to look Hugo in the face, the older boy shook his head vigorously. "No it's not. I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

After a few shaky breaths, Hugo sat up and crawled to sit beside the severely hurt boy. "Yeah, I'm fine. Jesus you're so bloody-"

"Don't look at it. Look at my face." It took all of his strength but Roland lifted his hand to turn Hugo's face towards his. "I'm fine. Loving you is worth it."

That's when the lights to the Malfoy condo came on and Scorpius was running towards the bleeding boys lying in the middle of the empty street. A bit too late now, but they'd take what they could get.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? OMG it was intense for me to write.. But I had so much fun! I'll keep posting as fast as I can write! Leave reviews please! <strong>


	2. Chapter Two: If That's Not Love

**Hey you! Yeah you! Right there! I see you.. Haha okay well I don't really have anything new to say besides thanks for reading! Thanks for reviewing! Keep doing both and I'll be your best friend! Just kidding, I already am your best friend... Right? **

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><p><em><span>Chapter Two: If That's Not Love (The Naked Brothers Band)<span>_

"I swear to god when I found out who did this-" Scorpius paced back and forth in the living room of the condo, talking to himself aloud. He had heard Hugo's voice outside as he had emerged from the shower and when neither of the boys had returned inside, he had run out of the house shirtless to find them.

Lily was on her knees in front of Roland, running disinfectant wipes over the scrapes and bruises on his face. Tears were streaking down her face as she assessed the damage of both Hugo and the severely damaged brunette. Roland had refused to let go of Hugo's hand since they had stumbled into the house.

Still cursing, Scorpius punched the wall next to the fireplace as hard as he could. Hugo began to cry hysterically when his fist burst through the plaster.

"Stop it. You aren't helping anything by being aggressive." Lily snapped at the blonde over her shoulder, placing bandages over the deep gash above Roland's right eye.

Now Scorpius was bleeding along with the other two boys, causing Lily's temper to flair even more. She still wasn't over the way he had acted that afternoon, but now was hardly the time to bring it up. And as she had once thought his protective nature was endearing, she now found it childish and uncalled for.

Glaring down at his girlfriend, Scorpius spit verbal fire at her. "Are you the only one allowed to get angry now?"

"No, but you're acting like a child. Look, I'm not arguing with you right now." Under her breath she hissed, "Even if you were acting like a drooling slut over the blonde."

Immediately regretting her choice to say it aloud, Lily clamped her mouth shut tight as she turned to deal with Hugo's curled up form. He wasn't nearly as hurt as his counterpart, there were only a few scratches where the man's rings had made contact when he was slapped.

Feeling the tension rise in the room, Hugo's cries rose in volume. Roland pulled the thin boy to his chest, "Will you two cut the shit? Fight when there isn't a bawling child in the room."

Both of them watching Hugo cry into Roland's bloody shirt, Lily and Scorpius clammed up. Draco appeared in the doorway of the living room, obviously angry from being woken up my the loud conversation. As his eyes passed over the damaged group of teenagers he switched into a character he had never before possessed. A father.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Crossing to Roland, he pushed the boy's head back to assess the damage as Lily had already done. "I'm calling the police."

Hugo, finally coming back to himself, grabbed the older Malfoy's wrist. "No, don't. They won't be able to find them, it's not worth going through an investigation."

It took more pleading, but finally Draco agreed to refrain from calling the cops. Sweeping his wand over first Hugo, and then Roland, Draco watched as his magic healed all of the wounds that Lily had just bandaged.

Not wanting to be treated like an invalid any longer, Roland rose to his feet. A sharp pain shot through his torso, sending him tumbling to the floor.

"Bloody hell!" Scorpius caught the brunette before his head could make contact with the carpet. "What's going on?"

Shaking his head vigorously, Roland wrapped his arms around his own waist. "I think my ribs are broken. Fuck!"

When the men had repeatedly kicked the entirety of the boy's body, they must have made enough substantial contact to break some of his bones. He hated to show weakness, he had been raised to do just the opposite, but this was much more painful than anything he had experienced throughout his many fights.

Draco tried to fix the ribs with magic also, but no such luck. The boy would be forced to heal just as slowly as a muggle. There went the lovely vacation in the Caribbean.

With the help of Scorpius, Roland stumbled down the hallway to his bedroom. Immediately crawling into bed, he beckoned Hugo to join him. He had been hoping that he would have the younger boy in his bed that night, but this wasn't exactly what he had had in mind.

Closing the door on the two boys, Scorpius returned to the living room where Lily sat, looking out the window. Leaning against the entrance to the room, he watched her sit.

"You can go to bed, you know. I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I wanted to, so don't wait up for me." It was the first semi-kind words Lily had spoken to Scorpius all evening. She wished that she could forget about Cherry, or more importantly the sudden flip in Scorpius' behavior, but she couldn't force herself to ignore the signs of his old self returning.

She had stayed up many nights, fearing this exact thing would happen. Unfortunately now Lily had to admit to herself that she had feared correctly. Turning to look at the tall blonde, she chewed her lip in thought.

Staring at his socked feet with bloodshot eyes, Scorpius nodded slowly. "Alright. Goodnight, Lily."

Then he was gone and the redhead was alone, both in thought and in reality. What had she done to deserve her world suddenly crumbling?

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><p>The low rumbling of an engine pulled Scorpius back into reality. It was just barely light enough outside to see where he was going, not that he himself knew. Sleep didn't come for him until he was over the entire concept.<p>

Slipping on a sweater and sneakers, he had gone for an early morning jog. Even he could feel himself slipping back into old habits and it scared him more than anything. But at the same time, he couldn't help but be aggressive towards the redhead that had always seemed to be able to push his buttons more than anyone.

"Scorpius, get in the car."

Reluctantly, he climbed into the front seat of his father's rental car. The two rode in silence all the way to the cliffs that overlooked the rolling waves of the ocean. It had never felt comfortable to spend time with his father, but he couldn't help squirming at the tense air surrounding the car.

The older Malfoy tapped the steering wheel with long, pale fingers. He wasn't sure what to say to his son, they had never had a talkative relationship with each other and he wasn't sure they could start now.

Taking the plunge, the older blonde took a deep breath. "Would you like to tell me what has you so upset?"

"No." Scorpius glared out the windshield, folding his arms across his chest.

Draco mentally chastised himself for thinking his son would want to confide in him when he had only proven time and time again he wasn't trustworthy. But he hadn't expected to me shot down so quickly. It was apparent that something had gone on the burn the affection that had been there between Lily and Scorpius only a day prior. It wasn't like him to care though, so he pushed his worries aside.

"Fine then. We head home tomorrow, there's no point in suffering for any longer than necessary." Pealing away from the cliffs, leaving all hopes of a relationship with his son dangling from the ledge.

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><p>Sitting on the grass of the yard in front of the condo, Lily balanced her laptop on her knees. She watched the mixture of tourists and locals flow by, occasionally tensing up at what she thought was Cherry passing by the house.<p>

Her fingers flying across the keyboard, she sent her mother emails of false happiness and a wishful "see you soon". Closing her computer just as Scorpius sat beside her on the grass, Lily shut her eyes to mentally prepare herself for the harsh words she was sure would come.

"It's seems like I've needed to say this to you more lately than ever, but I'm sorry. I've been a jerk, again." Laughing at his own ridiculousness, Scorpius pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess I'm just such a shitty boyfriend that I need to apologize nonstop."

Watching him fight himself in order to apologize, Lily felt the corner of her mouth tip up in a sly smile. "I agree that you're a jerk."

Scorpius stared at her in disbelief. He definitely hadn't been expecting her to agree, but the grin on her face put him at ease. "Well thank you for agreeing with me on something at least."

"I'm sorry you don't understand why I'm angry. I just- The way you looked at her- No, never mind. It doesn't matter." Blinking away tears, Lily shook off the feelings depression rising within her. She had a sudden ache to be home, in her own bed, away from this dreadfully beautiful island.

Sensing the silent messages of depression radiating off of the younger girl, the king of Slytherin slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. Whispering down into her ear, he closed his eyes as if he was forcing himself to believe his words along with her. "You are the only one I will ever want, Lily. I love you so much it hurts. And when I start acting like a jerk like I have been, it's you that brings me back down to earth. I don't know what I would ever do without you."

There was no reply to his comment for there was no need. He understood that she felt the same way, but something inside of Lily kept her from loving him back completely.

Until she could put her finger on what was off with the tall blonde, they would never truly be together.

The classroom filled with laughing students quickly, everyone eager to return to their real home. Percy Weasley was, as he had promised, still the Headmaster of Hogwarts and had it running quite smoothly now. It was soon apparent that the group of close friends would be separated more now than they had the year before.

Not even Elle and 'Manda had more than two classes with each other during the day, but they were the fortunate ones out of the group. Despite being two years ahead in Transfiguration, Lily had been informed that she would be required to take the course with her fellow fifth years.

She should have been happy for one class that would come to her easily, but now all chances of helping Scorpius were out of the question. Falling onto the crisp grass beside her cousin and best friends, Lily closed her eyes to the world.

"Are you having as bad of a first day as I am?" Hugo sat with his chin in the palm of his hand, his elbows on his knees.

Nodding silently, the redhead made herself sit up and fake a smile. "It'll all be okay though. We just need to get back into the swing of being apart."

But even she couldn't believe her own words. As annoyed as she had been with Scorpius lately, she still hated to be away from him. Elle must have been having the worst time out of all of them, but she didn't show how much she missed James for she was too proud to admit weakness.

'Manda, the only single one left in their group, was clearly annoyed by the prospect of missing someone so much but of course, she was too shy to say anything. Taking it upon herself to put 'Manda out of the misery of listening to their complaints, Lily jumped to her feet.

Her hand lifting Elle's stick straight hair, she yelled out to the world. "Tag! You're it!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Rearing backwards in an attempt to catch her best friend on the ankle, Elle scrambled towards her retreating body. Hugo and 'Manda jumped into action just before she could turn on them.

Laughing uncontrollably as she avoided Elle's every attempt at catching her, the redhead ran towards the entrance to the school. The game was cut short for her when she looked up to see Scorpius leaning against the stone wall just inside the front doors.

He had a lazy smirk on his face, arms crossed across his chest as he talked to none other than-bet you can guess- Cherry.

Lily watched in shock as he grabbed the blondes waist and pulled her against his body. Both were completely oblivious to the traumatized girl watching the touchy exchange.

"Tag! You're it." Elle had finally caught up with the frozen Lily, slapping on the back with more force than necessary. When she realized that her best friend wasn't moving, she followed her line of sight right to the heated contact going on between the two beautiful blondes. "Oh, fuck."

Just as Scorpius turned to the familiar voice, Lily jumped out of his line of sight. Grabbing the smaller girl's hand, she pulled her across the grounds to where Hugo and 'Manda were waiting.

Moments before she reached the exhausted pair, she hissed into Elle's ear. "Keep this quiet. No one needs to know what we saw, especially Scorpius."

She had no idea why she was so eager to cover such a disgusting, selfish act but she felt that saying it aloud would only make it more real. It wasn't like they had been kissing, although she was sure if he hadn't turned to the voices, they would have been.

Raking her bangs back from her face as she always did when she was about to get emotional, she breathed shakily through gritted teeth. What was that saying that she had never thought she would use?

Oh, yes. FUCK. MY. LIFE.

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><p>"How the hell would I know?" Scorpius snapped at Lily, causing her to jump back at the tone of his voice. He didn't want to be sitting in the Gryffindor common room with two fifth years, doing homework. Not to mention every time he even made a movement like he was going to touch his girlfriend, she would shift away like he was about to hit her.<p>

Maybe that's what she wanted. At least then she'd have an excuse to think he was such a shitty boyfriend. When had his view of the innocent girl turned into seeing her as a vindictive bitch?

It didn't matter. All he knew was this isn't what Scorpius Malfoy should be doing on a Saturday night when there was so little time left for him to be social at this damn school.

Hugo must have grown testicles over the last week because he flung his pencil down on the stack of opened textbooks. "Why don't you just fuck off then? If you don't want to be here, then leave."

Her eyes flickering between her boyfriend and cousin, Lily pursed her lips and kept silent. The two boys were glaring into each others eyes with such intensity she thought one might burst the other into flames at any moment.

Shoving his chair back from the table, Scorpius nearly knocked over a passing first year but didn't pay any mind to it. "That's cool with me. I'd rather be anywhere than here with your queer ass and her whiny attitude. Find me if you want to actually have fun for once, Potter."

As if to complete the cliché of the angry situation, he slammed the common room porthole door on the way out, causing many first years to jump inches into the air.

Lily took no shame in collapsing onto the textbook covered desk, letting mascara filled tears stain the crisp pages. All Hugo could do to try and comfort her was rub her back as she sobbed.

He didn't know what was going on between the, until just recently, happy couple but it took all he had to not beat the shit out of Scorpius. Well it's not like he was tough enough to really fight, as was shown by the jumping in the Caribbean, but he had a feeling that he could win based on pure fury.

But instead he pulled up an old philosophy that he was pretty sure didn't even exist.

When it doubt, run to your gay boyfriend and the best friend of the jackass hurting your cousin. Right?

* * *

><p>After a few days Lily had shed enough tears that she realized the ridiculousness of her situation, deciding that she wouldn't let the blond Slytherin push her around anymore. Not surprisingly though, her guard was immediately broken down when Scorpius pulled her out of the hallway the next Monday after their last class.<p>

She followed him loyally, though not exactly willingly, through the corridors. Amazingly, she hadn't seen Cherry around school since that dreadful Saturday, not that she was complaining.

But why was she at Hogwarts at all? She definitely hadn't been at the wizarding school throughout the last five years, that was for sure. Lily was almost positive that her sudden arrival had more to do with Scorpius than a formal wizarding education.

The tall blonde stopped short in front of a giant slab of gray stone, his eyes squinting in concentration. Before Lily's eyes, the wall broke into immensely smaller sections and separated into a giant doorway. Inside of the magically summoned room, a large bed was positioned in front of a romantic fireplace.

Her heart jumped into her chest, suddenly aware of Scorpius' purpose for conjuring the Room of Requirement. The smoldering look in Scorpius' icy blue eyes made her more afraid than anything.

He had, undoubtedly, brought her here for sex.

* * *

><p>Roland couldn't believe his ears. He knew better than anyone how much Scorpius was in love with Lily. But why was he acting this way towards everyone he had once cared about.<p>

Not even trusting in his best friend, Scorpius was keeping everything from the outside world. For a moment, Roland had thought that his best was really changing as he had, but he was obviously wrong.

"I'm sorry I had to come to you about this, I just don't know what else to do. If anyone can talk some sense into him, it's you." Hugo struggled to keep up with the older boy's long stride. Only minutes into Hugo's rant, Roland had taken off like a bat out of hell to find his fellow Slytherin.

Shaking his head vigorously, Roland let his hand slip into Hugo's as he strode towards the Gryffindor common rooms where he hoped to find the young couple. "Don't be sorry. I've got this."

But as he had been dreading, Lily and Scorpius weren't in the common room. Which meant they could be anywhere in the huge castle and Scorpius could be ruining his life as they spoke.

Taking off towards the moving staircases, Roland broke into a sprint.

Hugo didn't bother trying to follow, so he yelled over the railing at the retreating figure of his boyfriend. "How are you going to find them?"

"I have no idea!" The tall brunette yelled over his shoulder, his vision blurring as he ran faster.

* * *

><p>Lily's back hit the soft comforter spread across the bed, her wrists being pinned to the bed by Scorpius' long fingers. He had a hungry look in his eyes that, under any other circumstances, would have sent shocks throughout her whole body.<p>

Oblivious to the uncomfortable look on Lily's face, the invasive boy crushed his lips to hers. That's when she detected the hints of alcohol on his breath, explaining his erratic behavior. She tried to not let it bother her, forcing her eyes shut against how wrong this whole situation felt.

Over the past few months she had contemplated sex with Scorpius, how amazing of an experience it would be to share with him, but this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She didn't have any unrealistic expectations like most girls her age, there wouldn't be romantic music playing in the background and it would most likely happen in a rush so as to not get caught, but this was ridiculous.

Before she realized what was happening, Scorpius had his hands under her shirt. Foreplay the last thing on his mind, he grabbed Lily's breasts painfully hard. That was it, she refused to let this happen to her.

"Stop it." Scrambling away from him on the bed, she covered her chest with a thin arm as if to protect it from further abuse.

This didn't even sway Scorpius. He simply reached for her waist, pulling her down the bed towards him. Taking the end of her long sleeved shirt, the blonde tugged upwards as hard as he could.

Eyes glazing over with the intense need to just get what he wanted, Scorpius didn't realize that he ripped the shirt almost in half. Not quite sure why she would be emotional at a time like this but not able to stop it, Lily began to sob uncontrollably.

"Scorpius, please. Please, stop."

Finally coming to his senses, the tall boy stared at the seemingly tiny redhead in horror. Stumbling as he backed towards the closed off entrance to the secret room, he apologized over and over again. "I'm so sorry- I didn't-I have to go."

The entrance shut quickly behind Scorpius, the whole time he was backing up. Once in the hallway, he took off in a sprint and didn't look back.

* * *

><p>Cherry's phone rang just as she was returning to her room after her shower. Her heart did back flips as she saw the words <em>New Message from Scorpius Malfoy <em>scroll across her screen. Opening the message as quickly as possible, a grin spread across her angelic face.

_On my way. Need to relieve some tension. Care to help?_

_Scorpius._

Sending back a message in the affirmative, she sprinted around her room in order to get dressed on time for his arrival.

Headmaster Weasley had welcomed her with open arms into Hogwarts after she had decided that "homeschooling" just wasn't enough for her anymore. Well that was one reason why she had made the decision, the other of course being the boy about to show up in her room.

Sure, he had a girlfriend but if she didn't make him happy enough to stay away from Cherry, wasn't that her fault? At least that's what the tall blonde kept repeating to herself as she brushed her teeth, all the while staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Some days she wasn't sure how she could stand her own reflection, but it wasn't hard to do when your outer appearance masked the inner pain and ugliness.

The insistent knock on the door made her suddenly very thankful that she had gotten a room to herself, due to all the other seventh year Slytherin rooms being filled.

Pulling open the door, Cherry set a sexy pout onto her full lips. "Scorpius. Shall we?"

The muscular boy let his eyes openly scan the voluptuous body in front of him. Her hair was still damp from the shower he had obviously just caught her out of. Even without makeup, her face was flawless and glowing.

Thin, black lace covered only the most private parts of her body. An excited sweat broke out on the back of Scorpius' neck, the same savagely hungry look he had had with Lily still on his face.

"Oh fuck yeah."

Closing the door behind them, Scorpius crushed his warm lips against her plump ones. This time when his hands made contact with the softness of breasts there was no crying or complaints, he could simply do what he wanted with her body.

Which is exactly what he wanted. Right?

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><p><strong>OH SNAP GUYS! XD Don't shoot me for messing stuff up a bit.. I need a plot now don't I? Review please! I'll love you forever! <strong>


	3. Chapter Three: Cherry Bomb

**I'm sorry if I made you upset with the sudden plot twist.. But I promise it's worth it to keep reading! I can't promise that things will be fixed quickly between Scorp and Lily but what fun would it be if they were all of a sudden better? Please just trust me and I'll guide you along a really fun plot twist. :) Please leave reviews! It gives me a little pitter patter in my heart when I see one in my email inbox. Love you!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Three: Cherry Bomb (The Runaways Cover)<span>_

It was closer to dawn than dusk when Scorpius woke from the after-sex nap they had decided to take. Cherry's arms were wrapped around his waist so tightly he worried he would wake her as he got up, but his feet finally touched the clothing littered floor.

Scrambling around in the dark, he pulled on what he assumed where his clothes and slipped out into the corridor connecting all of the girls' dorms. Luckily the hallway was lit and he had indeed put on his own clothes.

The bottle of Vodka he had downed before showing up to take Lily to his secret sex room was now almost out of his system. Naturally, as soon as the though of alcohol crossed his mind, bile rose in his throat. The potted plant at the end of the hallway got most of the abuse that always followed alcohol consumption.

When Cherry had shown up at Hogwarts they had sorted her into Slytherin, not that she would have fit well anywhere else, so he didn't have to risk getting caught by Filch out in the main part of the school. Creeping across the common room, Scorpius' heart almost stopped when he spotted a dark form curled up on the black leather couch.

Roland had tried staying up to talk to his intoxicated friend, but had eventually fallen asleep at the effort. That was fine with Scorpius, but it only prolonged the scolding he was sure to get.

Oh, who was he kidding? A scolding wasn't even close to the worst thing that would happen to him in the next twenty four hours. He knew how badly he had fucked up, but who had expected his good behavior to last longer than this anyway?

Not even Lily could teach the old dog new tricks. He was, and forever would be, the king of Slytherin.

Or should he say, the king of fuck ups.

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><p>When Roland finally awoke it was five o'clock in the morning. He found Scorpius in his bed, still dressed in his clothes from the day before, surrounded by a terrible stench. Lily was no where to be found and something told him that she wasn't in her room either.<p>

Taking off through the corridors, he didn't even care if he was caught by Filch. At least that would be one more person looking for the poor, lost girl. He was just about to go looking for the school attendant when he saw her sitting against a wall in a corridor only lit by one torch above her head.

The redhead had her legs pulled up under her chin with her thin, pale arms wrapped around her calves. She was also wearing the same clothes as before, except for her long sleeved shirt that was balled up in her lap. She looked even smaller than normal in just a bra and jeans, making Roland's stomach churn as he examined her further.

As he crouched down beside her, he noticed dark bruises covering her arms and ribs that looked like they would fit Scorpius' fingers. Her long hair was tangled and eyeliner was streaked down her cheeks.

"Jesus Christ. What did he do to you." It wasn't a question, not that she would have been able to answer him. Her entire body was shaking, whether from fright or cold he wasn't sure. More than likely a combination of both.

He wasn't sure how long she had been here or how long it would have taken for her to be found, but he was extremely angry with himself for falling asleep when he should have been looking for the obviously traumatized girl. Roland took her shaking hands in his, "Lily, did he make you have sex?"

Her blue eyes grew even larger than normal and filled with tears, but she neither confirmed nor denied. Not that Roland could blame her, the trauma of getting attacked was enough to scare you into silence, especially if it was someone that was supposed to love you.

It had never been in his nature to judge Scorpius and the stupid things he did, because he had always done something worse, but this had gone too far. Maybe the stress of commitment was getting to him or maybe he wasn't as happy as they had all thought, but none of that excuse what Scorpius had done. Especially if he had raped this girl.

"I'm taking you to Hugo, babe." Roland pulled the limp body into his arms, running towards the moving staircases that led to the Gryffindor common room. To his relief, the Fat Lady realized something was seriously wrong with the girl he carried and didn't ask for a password for entrance.

Roland headed straight for where he was sure held Hugo's dorm room. The younger boy didn't have the luxury of a room to himself, so Roland woke up the entire room of fifth years when he entered the room.

Rushing to get out of the bed so Lily could be sat down, Hugo screeched at the gawking boys to get out of the room. He didn't know what was going on but at the sight of the small, trembling girl he wanted to cry and puke at the same time. Scorpius had done this, he was sure of it and he wouldn't stop until he had payed for it ten times over.

As he joined Roland beside the bed, Hugo took the shirt out of his cousin's grasp. She turned on her side and let her eyes close, so out of it she didn't even realize that she was almost naked from the waist up. Not that it mattered with only two gay boys in the room, but it still would have freaked her out under normal conditions.

"I asked if he'd ra- forced her into anything. She didn't answer me." The tall brunette whispered as if he'd never had to say something so horrible aloud before.

Lily had fallen asleep in her fetal position, her body trembling randomly as if she was being shocked. Pulling his blankets around her thin body, Hugo sat back on his heals where he was squatted next to the bed.

Running a hand through his short hair, the thin boy squeezed his eyes shut against the thoughts of what had happened. "We'll just wait until she's up to telling us what happened. There's no point in going to Uncle Percy until we know for sure that it was Scorpius. As for the others that saw you bring her in, we need to perform a memory erasing spell on them before the blab to anyone."

Roland nodded once, turning to leave the room but stopped short when he heard the deathly truthful tone of Hugo's last comment."

"I swear to God, Roland. If he raped her, I'll kill him."

* * *

><p>Luckily, Roland had gotten to the Gryffindors before they had the chance to tell what they had seen. Since it was still too early for anyone to be awake, he and Hugo led Lily through the dark corridors back to the Room of Requirement. This time it transformed into a room fit to stay in without having to leave.<p>

They had realized that there was no where else to keep Lily. The dorm rooms at Hogwarts were designed to store many students, they weren't good for hiding a secretly hurt witch.

It was Tuesday, so both Roland and Hugo had to go to class but they promised Lily they would be back as soon as they could. She had simply nodded in agreement. Hugo had brought her thick pajamas to cover her irregularly cold body and had pulled her ratted hair away from her face. Yet she still looked like death itself, even with the worst of her injuries only bruises.

After they had left, she slept for hours, finally awaking to the sound of Roland entering to bring her food. He was alone and extremely worried that she would find this threatening as if he was going to hurt her too.

Lily seemed to realize this, because she etched a meek smile onto her face. "It's okay, Roland. You don't have to treat me like a child, I know you aren't going to hurt me."

"Right now I just need to know how hurt you already are. If something- if he- it's just important to know exactly what happened. Can you do that for me? Then I'll leave you alone." His face was kind as he sat next to her, reaching out to hold her hand in an effort to make her relax.

Images of Scorpius' face flashed through her head, making her entire body jerk back from the physical contact of Roland. This seemed to scare him more than offend him but she still apologized vigorously. "I don't want to. Please don't make me."

Heart breaking, the tall brunette nodded. "Of course, Lil. Just tell me when you're ready okay? I have to get to class, I skipped out on lunch to come see you. Hugo will be here as soon as he can."

He was almost to the door when Lily blurted out the answer to his question. "We didn't have sex. He tried, but I said no."

Relief hit Roland hard. Smiling, though still upset over the entire situation, he left the small redhead in the magical room once again.

* * *

><p>It took every excuse in the book, but Hugo managed to get all of Lily's professors to believe his lies of where she was. By Friday, Lily was so sick of staying in the boring room all day long by herself. Hugo and Roland agreed that she was looking normal enough to rejoin the other students, as long as she tried to act like herself.<p>

Not having spoken much more than a few words over the past few days, Lily wasn't sure if she could pass normalcy off at this point. Hugo had managed to trick her roommates, even Elle and 'Manda for it was just easier to keep them in the dark on this, into thinking she was in the nurses wing and had told the nurse that she was in her dorm. Luckily no one had crosschecked the information, leaving them to take care of her in peace.

On her way to breakfast that Friday, Roland stopped her on one of the emptier staircases to talk to her. "How do you feel?"

"Better. I'm not sure I can do this, I'll break down if I see him." She whispered the words, more in an effort to convince herself than to keep the conversation a secret. "I'm not strong enough."

Stopping in front of Lily to keep her from continuing down the steps, Roland grabbed her shoulders as if he was about to shake her. "You're the strongest person that I know. This isn't the Lily I know and love. The old Lily would walk straight up to that jackass and cuss him out. Maybe punch him in the face, but you get what I mean."

This actually managed to make the redhead laugh, "He's your best friend. You really want me to punch him? He was drunk, I though you'd understand that better than anyone."

It was true, Roland had blown off a lot of the things he had done simply because he was drunk, but his eyes were now open. The day he had found Lily, he had looked everywhere for Scorpius but every class they had together, he wasn't in. He was obviously avoiding his best friend and for good reason, Roland had half a mind to strangle him into unconsciousness. But violence wasn't the answer to this problem.

"I don't think I would classify him as a best friend at the moment. More like the idiot from my childhood that never grew up. At any rate, you need to tell him who you are, since he's seemed to have forgotten."

Lily shook her head, a red curtain falling around her face. "What if I don't know who I am anymore?"

"You are Lily Luna Potter, daughter of the Boy Who Lived. You aren't a little girl that can be walked on." She laughed at how corny he was being, "I'm serious! He was lucky to have you, Lily. And if you're scared to even see him in the hallway, then you should move on. It's time."

It was time.

* * *

><p>Cherry had found Scorpius in the Great Hall, eating by himself. Taking a seat directly beside him, she let her blonde head fall onto his broad shoulder. It worried her slightly when he stopped breathing, but soon he relaxed enough to calm her nerves.<p>

"Where did you go the other morning? I was hoping to wake up to your gorgeous body." She made her voice sound smooth and sexy like she knew he always enjoyed. Raking her perfect nails up and down his thigh under the table, the blonde looked up at the boy of her dreams. Little did she know he had been trying to avoid her along with Roland, but had finally just given up.

Scorpius was much less happy to see her than she was to see him, his stomach churning as he thought of what had happened that night. He had started drinking that morning, keeping an unhealthy amount of Vodka in his system all throughout the day.

Seeing Lily walking in the hallway had awakened something inside of him, making him suddenly extremely aggressive. He had left her in the Room of Requirement just as dinner had started, so he went back to the Slytherin common room to drink even more.

It hadn't been until Scorpius had consumed his body weight in Vodka that he had joined Cherry in her room. During the summer that the Malfoy's had spent their entire vacation on the tourist island, Scorpius and Cherry had been inseparable.

He definitely didn't think they were in love, more like obsessed with really good sex. Over the years he had kept her number just in case he needed something to distract him from life, but that had been the only time it had come to use.

Putting on his fake act, Scorpius forced a sly smirk onto his face. "Well I didn't want to get caught in your room and ruin all chances of doing that again. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" It was like taking candy from a baby.

Cherry glowed at what she took as flattery rather than a complete lie. She obviously hadn't gathered how much Scorpius regretted their little affair.

Hushed whispers rose up in the Great Hall around the blondes, making the hair on the back of Scorpius' neck stand erect. Gliding into the dining hall on a cloud of emotions was the young redhead he had claimed as his in this very room a year ago. Or at least he thought it was Lily.

Black stilettos clicked angrily against the hard floor, leading up smooth legs just barely covered by dark denim, short shorts. A deep, wine colored shirt hung across one shoulder and fell off the other, the lacy sleeves pulled down over her knuckles.

Bright red lipstick colored her lips and her eyes were lined by darkness, making it easy to lose oneself in their depths. The blush on her pale cheeks was so exaggerated she looked like she had walked right out of the seventies. Yet none of this compared to the biggest change of all.

Her hair, that used to hang simply down to waist, was now cropped to the top of her shoulders. Lily couldn't count the amount of times that Scorpius had told her to never change her hair, his favorite thing to do was bury his face in it's depths. That was of course the reason she had demanded Hugo take scissors to it that morning. The skilled boy had even went as far to cut swooping, sexy bangs over her left eye.

Needless to say, Scorpius was shocked. Lily wasn't the type to suddenly change so many things about herself. He didn't understand that this was her metamorphosis into herself again, this was her way of saying that she could be so much better without him.

"Lily, wow. You look great." The blonde boy had risen to his feet without realizing it as she stopped on the other side of the table from him. The hushed whispers that had slowly gotten louder during her progression towards the table now cut off completely, everyone waiting for the standoff that was sure to come.

Raising one finger towards the object of her hatred, Lily turned to the gorgeous blonde girl staring at her in shock. "First I'd like to say thank you, Cherry." The girl's shock only deepened at this, but she said nothing. She didn't need to, Lily was going to continue. "You saved me from having to find out down the line how much guys suck. I guess you really can learn a lot from elders.

"Next, I'd like to congratulate you for gaining a new fuck buddy. I know it must be a great success for someone like you to know how much of a home wrecker you are." With each word Lily's smile became larger, the sincerity of her statements was almost scary. "I hope you have a very happy and successful life. Now,"

Turning to Scorpius, the redhead placed her hands on the table between them and leaned towards him. Consequentially, the entire Great Hall leaned in so they could hear the rest of this soap opera going on in front of them. It struck them as interesting that there were no professors in the entire room to stop this explosion of hatred.

"As for Scorpius, I'd also like to say thank you. You've made me realize how much I've changed over the past year just to be the girl that would make you happy. That Lily wasn't me. I'm strong, intelligent and amazing. I think I forgot that, but now I remember."

Scorpius opened his mouth, his face turning a brighter red than it ever had before. He had never been so humiliated in his life than at that moment when Lily took all of their dirty laundry and drug it through the Great Hall for everyone to see. But the look in her smoldering eyes stopped him from speaking, so he waited.

"Honestly, Scorpius, I just hope you two are happy together. I obviously wasn't enough for you, but maybe she will be. You fit each other like puzzle pieces, trust me. Finally, I just want to warn you that if you ever bother me or my family again, it will be the worst thing you've ever done. Understand?" She didn't wait for his response, "Good. Have a good day, Malfoy."

Ending her tirade with an exaggerated wink, Lily left the silent room without looking back. There was nothing that Scorpius could say to her that would get rid of the pride she felt for herself at that moment.

To her surprise, Roland was standing beside the entrance to the Great Hall when she emerged, obviously having heard it all. She didn't expect the brilliant grin and fist bump she received from the older Slytherin, but she really didn't expect his congratulations.

"That's the Lily I know."

* * *

><p>Lunch couldn't come soon enough for Hugo and when he finally broke free of Potions he ran to find his boyfriend. The standoff between Lily and Scorpius that morning was the biggest topic going around school, even larger than when they had gotten together.<p>

Of course the Slytherins viewed the entire thing as a bitchfest for Lily, but the other houses couldn't be happier that the prince of Slytherin was finally put in his place. Hugo had been told at least twenty times to tell Lily how brave and inspirational she was. Even though he hadn't been there to witness the apparently epic event, the thin boy was extremely proud of his cousin.

But now it was time to confront his own problems. The rivalry that was sure to spring up between Lily and Scorpius' circles would without a doubt screw with his relationship. It was hard enough to be gay in any school but to be two gays on the opposite side of a rivalry that had gone back for centuries was a ridiculous concept in and of itself.

Roland seemed to sense what he was thinking, because he pulled the thin boy to an empty portion of the Gryffindor table. The professors didn't seem to fond of students sitting at whatever table pleased them, but they seemed even less pleased when it was these particular boys. They had learned to let these things just roll off their backs, not caring what anyone thought as long as they were happy.

"Have you talked to Scorpius yet?" Hugo talked in a hushed voice, picking apart a dinner roll with his long fingers. As if he had been summoned, Scorpius entered the Great Hall with Cherry on his arm.

At least he didn't have to lie about his "affair" like most cheaters would. Lily seemed to have taken care of that for him, for everyone in the school knew what had happened between the two blondes. Hugo had been relieved to find that she hadn't brought up his attempt at forcing sex with her. For some reason, every time he thought about the event the word "rape" popped into his brain. Then cold chills would flow up and down his spine freely.

Shaking his head, Roland watched his best friend from behind a curtain of dark hair. "I haven't gotten the chance. What am I supposed to say anyway? He'll just blow me off, I'll get pissed and we'll fight. The last thing I want is to be in detention just a few weeks into my last year."

Hugo understood the older boy's concerns, but he still had expected Roland to say something. Lately he had been the only voice of reason Scorpius seemed to have, especially with him losing all the characteristics that he had gained while with Lily.

"I know. I guess I'm just worried where this will leave us." The thin boy avoided Roland's eyes, not wanting to show just how worried he really was.

Pulling Hugo's chin up in order to stare into his eyes, Roland smiled in the most reassuring way possible. "Just because they didn't work out doesn't mean we won't. This right here, it's the most real thing I've ever felt. And I know you feel that way too, so we'll be together as long as that feeling stays."

"It'll be forever for me." Hugo whispered, laying his forehead against the brunette's.

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><p><strong>Sorry this took so long to be put up! I'm trying to write two Fanfics at the same time and read a few new books that I picked up, but I finished this chapter! If you haven't read The Maze Runner trilogy, I would definitely try it! Especially if you loved the Hunger Games.. I personally love it. :) ANYWAY! Leave reviews please! Love you guys!<strong>


	4. Chapter Four: It Ends Tonight

**I don't have much to say.. Hope you had a good holiday season! (Assuming that this isn't posted in time, we all know it probably won't be.) Leave reviews please! Love you guys!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Four: It Ends Tonight (All American Rejects)<span>_

Leave blew past Lily as she pulled open the door to the Hogsmeade pub, The Three Broomsticks. Students were allowed in certain areas of the building and were served large mugs of Butter Beer upon request. She was alone at the moment, having left before her friends could catch up to her.

Privacy wasn't exactly what she was searching for, otherwise she wouldn't have gone to the heavily populated community on the only day that Hogwarts students were permitted to leave school grounds. It was separation from the people that knew her best that she needed, only for a little while though, until she was ready to face her world on her own for the first time in a long time.

Her new look hadn't gone unnoticed by the male students at her school, she had quickly become even more "famous" than she had been before. A group of four guys she only knew by reputation invited her to sit at their table and she agreed, not really interested in more than just company.

"You really look great, Lily." The tall, dark skinned boy that had introduced himself as Zane told her. He had no shame in looking her up and down like she was a priceless item he longed to own. Letting the uncomfortable feelings she felt towards him roll off her back, Lily jumped into conversation with the juvenile boys.

As if the devil himself had decided to make Lily's life as hard as possible, the door to the pub opened once again, this time allowing two students to pass into the dimly lit building. His hands in his pockets, Scorpius leaned against the windows surrounding the door in an effort to look effortless. Only Lily could tell any different, that he was secretly scanning the room for any threats.

His gaze resting on her table of adoring boys, his composure was broken. Lily couldn't force herself to look away, caught in the swirling blue like she had been the first time they had actually spoken civilly. Only the loud clearing of Cherry's throat forced Scorpius into action.

Quickly ordering their drinks to go, the pair were leaving the pub within minutes. But not before Scorpius had drilled holes in the protective walls Lily had been trying to build around her heart.

No, she definitely wasn't ready to face her world on her own. It was going to take a lot more than one week to get over the beautiful boy, but she could she really wait that long?

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><p>After thinking long and hard about the decision, Albus knocked on the door separating the winding stairs from the Headmaster's office. Percy Weasley's welcome was muffled by the wooden door, but his nephew sensed the intention of his words and pushed inside the office anyway.<p>

He hadn't visited this part of the castle since Percy had become the Headmaster, but not much had changed. His uncle liked everything just so, making the feel of the room even more scholarly than it already would have been. The older red head sat behind the large desk taking up much of the main portion of the office, his reading glasses close to falling off his nose.

"Ah, Albus. What can I help you with today? Surely you haven't been sent here by a professor." Percy smiled at his own comment, well aware of how ridiculous of a concept that would be. "Come, sit."

Not moving from his position in the doorway, Albus shook his head sharply. "I don't really have time to sit today, Headmaster. I actually came here to ask for a favor."

This seemed to intrigue Percy, causing him to stand to his feet. "I will do my best. You always were my favorite nephew."

The young boy managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. Percy had only shown interest in Albus' life because of the resemblance he showed to Percy himself when he had attended Hogwarts. This didn't sit well with Albus however, he valued family more than his uncle ever had. Which was exactly why he was here.

"I would like to visit my father. It's very important." He almost hadn't gathered the courage to ask the red head, it was a bit of a stretch to ask for something that was so close to breaking school policy. Yet he had prepared himself to use other methods to speak to his father face to face if this failed.

It proved to not be necessary though. Percy cocked an eyebrow at the thought of what could drive Albus to ask for such a favor, but stepped towards the large fireplace in the corner of his office. "You know what to do. I expect you to return as quickly as possible and this will remain between us. I can't very well have a line of students waiting to visit home, now can I?"

Albus agreed quietly before stepping into the ashes gathered in the bottom of the fireplace. Grabbing a handful of Floo Powder, he nodded towards his uncle and threw the substance at his feet. A mixture of colors spun around him as he was transported to his parents' living room.

Normally, he would have been able to apparate to the place of his desire seeing as he was now a seventh year. But there had been protection spells placed over the school long ago preventing wizards from using such magic on school grounds. He had just decided it would be easier to use the resources he could get his hands on, his uncle's office.

Harry Potter sat in front of the fireplace, an ancient book balanced on his knee and his glasses sliding halfway down his nose. Somehow, he wasn't startled in the least bit at the sudden appearance of his son. He simply looked up to see which child had returned home, before closing his book and asking his son to join him in the kitchen.

Following his father, Albus was forced to duck in order to enter the kitchen. He had inherited the Weasley genes when it came to height, but it had just recently shown itself. Ginny was slightly more surprised to see her youngest son this late on a Saturday night, but didn't hesitate to great him with kisses and embraces.

"Well, son, you aren't the type to just visit for no reason. There must be something that simply couldn't be confided over the phone. Get on with it." The middle aged man smiled at his son to contrast the harshness of his words, his eyes sparkling in mischief.

The two men had always been the closest pair in the family. It did help that their appearances were almost identical, despite the scar etched into Harry's forehead, but the hidden personalities were the real tie to each other. Albus took a seat at the island in Ginny's large kitchen, "I felt that you needed to know some things that have come up at school. Heaven knows, Lily wasn't going to tell you until she was forced. I do ask that you don't speak until I'm done speaking."

Waving his hand slightly in a symbol for Albus to continue, Harry let his eyes meet his wife's, a strong look of confidence in his eyes. The dark haired boy took a deep breath before delving into his story about the last few weeks at Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>"I knew it wasn't a good idea to trust that boy." Harry's large fist slammed against the counter, his blood bubbling with anger. He never thought that he would consider murdering again after the death of Voldemort, but images of spells cast against the young blonde gave him a sick satisfaction.<p>

A thin hand clamped down on his shoulder. "That's not true. You yourself said that he might break the Malfoy mold. It isn't your fault that you like to believe the best in everyone until they prove you wrong. But there really is no point in getting riled up about this, Lily has it under control."

The older red head was more upset about her daughters hair than anything, but not due to superficiality. She had recognized the maturity in Lily before anyone else, so she knew there was no reason to fret over issues already taken care of. However, her daughter's long hair was something she had always put her foot down on. Harry had tried to get it cut many times over the years, but Ginny wouldn't budge.

Now that Lily had taken it into her own hands, she felt helpless and unneeded. That was something she would come to terms with later, for her husband was on his way out the door to murder a seventeen year old child.

With the help of Albus, Harry was drug back into the kitchen and sat down. "You can't do anything, Dad. This is exactly why Lily wouldn't have told you in the first place."

"I don't give a flying fuck whether she wants me to interfere or not. Excuse my language, but I'm serious. I gave him as much trust as I could without regretting it and what does he do? He abuses it. Draco and Lucius have taught him well." His eyes flickering behind the round lenses of his glasses, the man shook his head to himself.

Thinking to himself for a few moments, Albus let out a long breath. "I'm always around, you know. I watch people all the time, so why don't I watch her in particular? I can report back to you if anything worse happens, then you can interfere. Then you aren't making a scene unless it's absolutely necessary."

Harry didn't like the idea, but Ginny seemed to think it was a good compromise that would make everyone happy. Agreeing reluctantly, the dark haired man vowed to himself that if Scorpius didn't watch his step, he wouldn't hesitate to end him one way or another.

* * *

><p>Flying down the staircases despite the constant movement, Hugo slipped through the crowds of students in order to reach the ground floor where his boyfriend stood. As he reached the waiting boy, his feet slipped out from under him and he went crashing to the ground.<p>

Not even caring about how stupid he looked, the thin boy closed his eyes and just lay there. This was the sixth time he had run back down the stairs in order to play messenger for the two teenagers that just weren't mature enough to talk directly to each other. Roland and Hugo had mistakenly accepted the job of speaking for the separate parties, but now just regretted getting out of bed that morning.

Leaning over his resting boyfriend, the brunette smiled solemnly. "Remind me to never agree to be the mediator for anyone ever again?" He pulled Hugo to his feet, kissing his lips softly before pulling him to sit on a stone bench that was pushed up against the cold wall of the Dungeon entrance.

"I don't think you'll ever forget the lesson you learned from being nice to friends. I'm pretty sure my legs will murder me before I can even think about agreeing." Rubbing circles into his thighs with his thin fingers, Hugo peered up at the older boy through his bangs. "What did he say?"

Roland sighed, pulling something from his pocket. It was the pendant Lily had given Scorpius the Christmas before, the same Christmas he visited her home for the entire break. Hugo knew this action would hurt her more than any words Scorpius could say to her, seeing as he had never taken it off since he had received it.

Wincing as the cold chain spilled into his palm, the younger boy bit his lip. "This isn't going to be good."

"I know. I'll go with you." Standing to his feet, Roland pulled his sore boyfriend up the many flights of stairs and through the portrait leading to the Gryffindor common room. Spotting Elle and 'Manda sitting at a small table next to the window, Roland nudged his head towards the pair. "I'll be over there. Just give it to her and leave."

Kissing the tall boy quickly, Hugo turned to ascend the stairs to Lily's dorm room. He didn't bother knocking. All of her roommates had quickly figured out that the redhead would not be the nicest at the peak of her depression, intelligently making plans to stay elsewhere for the time being. Elle and 'Manda only talked to her out in the open, where she wasn't likely to break into a fit.

Even after her strong transformation into herself, Lily was crushed. She didn't let anyone see it, putting on an amazing act of carelessness around anyone she didn't trust. It was in the confines of her room, with Hugo or Roland, that the volcano of hormones and emotions would erupt.

The young redhead sat on her bed, her legs pulled up to her chest as she stared at the wall next to the doorway. She didn't look up upon her cousin's entrance, only moving when she noticed the glint of silver in his palm. "What is that?"

Hugo didn't want to get any closer to the bed than necessary, acting as though she was a temperamental dragon ready to scorch him into ashes. Throwing the necklace to the base of the bed, he backed towards the door and watched Lily scramble to find the glinting object.

Pulling it up by her index finger, her blue eyes flickered between the returned present and the messenger that had brought it. Her throat burned, skin itched, tears forming in her eyes.

"Lily, he's just doing this to bother you. You can't let him ge-" Hugo was cut off by a terrifying screech and the necklace coming close to impaling his head, instead slapping the wall with a force enough to make a small dent. "I guess this isn't a good time to talk sense to you. I'll just- Go."

Lily didn't even notice the thin boy slip from the room, for she was too busy trying to sink into the many layers of blankets on her bed. Without thinking she let her long finger nails scrape across her inner, left wrist, watching the tiny beads of blood pop up along the pale skin. It didn't hurt nearly as much as she had feared and it wasn't like she was copying the Emos, so she did it again. And again. And again. Until her entire wrist throbbed, a dull red color replacing the white.

If Scorpius' coping mechanism was drinking and sex, Lily's was now faking and scratching. Why couldn't they both see how unhealthy it was?

* * *

><p>Pressing her plump lips to Scorpius' tan chest, Cherry hummed into his skin. She loved the feeling of his muscular arms wrapped around her naked waist, it made her feel at home but he obviously didn't feel the same way. It was obvious to the gorgeous girl that her beautiful boy didn't share her feelings, but she couldn't bring herself to care.<p>

As long as he was in her arms, she wouldn't accept the truth. He was still madly in love with Lily, only it seemed that he hadn't come to terms with it himself so why should she have to?

"So, um, how are you enjoying Hogwarts? Are you ready to go home yet?" It was a sad attempt as small talk, even Scorpius had to admit that, but it was all he had in him. There was simply nothing to talk about with this particular girl. Sure the sex was amazing but sometimes he just preferred doing it himself.

After all, he never had to talk to his own hand.

Opening her mouth to speak, Cherry's eyebrows furrowed. Bile rising in her throat, she jumped to her feet and grabbed her robe. She didn't even have half her body covered before she hit the door, running straight for the community bathroom. Luckily, it was after midnight on a Sunday night so the halls were empty.

Cherry doubled over in front of the very last toilet, heaving up every single thing she had eaten in the past twenty four hours. The thin girl felt even thinner as she collapsed to the floor of the stall.

Placing her hand on her own forehead, she came to the conclusion that she had a fever. It was an odd thought, seeing as she hadn't been sick since she was a child. Of course it could be- No, she wasn't going to let her mind go there.

Not surprisingly, Scorpius was gone from her room by the time she returned. Yes, she was right about his lack of feelings for her. So why did it hurt so much to have it confirmed?

* * *

><p>Roland stumbled down the hallway the morning after Lily had blown up over the necklace, a migraine throbbing in his head from the horrible sleep he had received the night before. He had to pass Scorpius' room in order to get to the bathroom, causing his footsteps to become considerably lighter.<p>

The door was cracked, not having closed all the way when the blonde had crept into bed the night before. Roland reached for the door, but seeing Scorpius standing by the window kept him from shutting it. Instead, he let his knuckles rap the wood before entering the dark room.

Speaking over his shoulder, Scorpius spoke to the dark room as a whole. "Need something? Don't you have a boyfriend to bother? If that's what they're calling it nowadays."

Chuckling to himself at how easy it was to brush off the boy's insults, Roland shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. "Nope. I'm all yours. Or do you only feel like talking to me when you need something?"

"I'm just waiting for the inevitable." The blonde still spoke to the room instead of the other boy, his eyes watching water track down his window. He was surprised he could even concentrate on anything at all, the amount of alcohol in his system could quite possibly kill a normal person.

He had built his tolerance for certain drinks to the point that he viewed himself as invincible. Too bad he couldn't build a tolerance for the girl only eight floors above him.

Pushing away from the wall, Roland walked up behind his best friend. "What do you think is going to happen, Malfoy? There's nothing I can say to change your mind and it's not like I'm going to waste my breath on it. Especially when you're so plastered you can't turn around without falling."

Just to show that he could, the blonde turned enough that he could see his friend. "We both know what's going to happen, Stone. Just say it." He glared as Roland shook his head, their eye contact never breaking. "I'm serious. Be a man and say it. Or has the fag turned you soft too?"

It pleased him beyond reason when Roland's frown turned into a dumbfounded stare. "A month ago you would have done anything to protect him. To protect her."

"Yeah well things change. People change." Stumbling to sit on his bed, Scorpius cursed himself for the corny word choice.

This struck a nerve inside Roland that he couldn't explain. Striking out, the tall boy punched the bed post directly beside Scorpius' head before shoving his face close enough to the other boy's that he could almost taste the alcohol on his breath. "You haven't changed. You never did, it was just a period of confusion that tricked everyone into thinking you're worth something.

"If you really want me to say it then I will. You're a piece of shit, Malfoy. You always have been and I'm better than you."

Shoving the blonde backwards onto the bed, Roland stormed out of the room and slammed the door just as a heavy trunk made contact with the wood. Splinters flew through the air, some of them making contact with a now standing, fuming Scorpius.

He reached for anything and everything he could get his hands on, destroying his room within moments.

It was there, amidst broken glass and paper, that Headmaster Weasley and Filch found the boy. His screams of frustration echoed through the Dungeon, awaking every single Slytherin still sleeping.

Cherry watched from an alcove by the dorm rooms as he was drug out of the common room. As they made eye contact, Scorpius let his eyes slide down to where her arm was covering her flat stomach.

Eyes widening in fear, the boy mouthed three tiny words that would potentially change more than just his life forever.

* * *

><p>The Malfoy "twins" sat side by side in the cold office, neither speaking as they listened to the accusations being thrown at Scorpius. Draco stared through the side of his son's head, willing him to look towards him but the younger blonde knew better.<p>

It wasn't until Percy Weasley had announced that he wouldn't be suspended if he payed for the damage and served a very long detention period, that either of the men moved. Pulling a checkbook out of his jacket, Draco wrote a blank check and slid it across the desk towards the red head.

Silently, the middle aged Malfoy grabbed his son's collar and yanked him from the room. It wasn't until they were in the crisp air of the Hogwarts that Draco acknowledged the horrible things his son had done.

Shoving his right sleeve up his forearm, Draco sucker-punched his son with all his strength. Leaning close to Scorpius' bleeding face, the older man spit in his face. "You are a disgrace to this family, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. The moment you graduate this school, I never want to see your face again. I really thought you might be able to do something worth while for once, but I see that you can't even manage that. Goodbye, son."

With a flash, Draco Malfoy was gone and Scorpius was left bleeding, alone. How many times would it take for the seventeen year old to realize that he was still a child?

* * *

><p>After four rings, a soft voice picked up on the other end of the line. "Cherry? What are you doing calling when it's so late there?"<p>

Inhaling slowly, the blonde let thick, wet tears flow freely down her cheeks. She sat on her bed, her legs pulled up in front of her and her arms pulling them to her chest. How could she ask what she needed to? She couldn't think of anything more embarrassing to ask her fifteen year old sister to do, but what choice did she have?

"Marnie, I need you to- Will you- I need a pregnancy test."

* * *

><p><strong>OH SNAP! Exciting. I hope you liked it! Leave me comments!<strong>


	5. Chapter Five: Whatever It Takes

**Hey everyone! I'm really going to try and post this today (December 28th) but if that doesn't work out it'll be up tomorrow! I'm still writing my Twilight Fanfic too and today was the day to post on that story, but I'm really going to kill myself in order to do both. Hope you guys love me for it! Please review. It makes me so happy to see them in my email. Love you! Oh right.. I've been asked quite a few times how old I am because my writing is misleading to my real age.. So I figured, I'd just tell you that I'm fifteen. :P Not sure why it matters but there you go!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Five: Whatever It Takes (Lifehouse)<span>_

A soft knock on the dorm room door pulled Lily from the world of Potions essays, catapulting her back into reality. Worried that it might be a drunk Scorpius waiting to let her have it as soon as she opened up for him, the redhead crept across the room to peer out the crack produced by the shitty carpentry of the doorway.

To her surprise, it was a shivering Cherry that stood in the quiet hallway, looking towards the stairs as if she was planning to bolt from the unfamiliar territory. Lily wondered how the girl had managed to get completely in the door to the common room, much less all the way up to the dorm rooms. It wasn't a secret that Cherry had broken up the relationship that bridged the gap between the two rivaling houses.

Something in the girl's thin face told her that there was a reason for her visit beyond gloating about her victory over Lily's face. Pulling open the door fully, the pale girl studied the corpse-like face in front of her. It was a gruesome sight that made her stomach churn.

Over the short time since Lily had last lay eyes on the blonde, her cheeks had hollowed out as if she was refusing to eat. Her normally sparkling eyes were dull, lifeless, and flickered to look anywhere but directly at the redhead. There was no traces of makeup on her face, taking away much of the beauty that dazzled boys on the spot.

Thick, flannel pajamas covered the girls thin body yet she still shivered at the autumn wind blowing into the dorm room. Blonde hair pulled back from her face, Cherry's face was exposed enough that it was obvious she was breaking out in blotches of acne all over her face.

Yet the worst sight of all were her lips. Bloody cracks spread even further as she continually licked the sore flesh, red streaking through the pale white skin. It took everything Lily had to not retreat to her bed where she wouldn't have to look at the disgusting figure before her.

Opening her dry lips, Cherry shivered convulsively from the thick air flowing into the room. "Please. You have to help me."

Lily's eyes skipped downwards to land on the girl's thin arm covering her flat stomach. She wanted to cry, to scream, to run, but her body refused. As if she hadn't been through enough over the past month, now the whore that had stolen her boyfriend was standing in her room, asking for a kind of help that she wasn't sure she could provide.

"Alright. Come in."

* * *

><p>Standing in the center of the Quidditch field, Roland bowed to his boyfriend before kicking an American soccer ball into the air. Hugo watched as the brunette bounced the ball from knee to knee, the concentration causing his tongue to stick out the side of his mouth.<p>

"What's the point of this game? Sometimes I think you're from a different planet, not a different country." Hugo chuckled, reminding himself how much he loved Roland's Brooklyn accent.

The taller boy rolled his eyes, sending the ball flying towards Hugo with his foot. It was easy to forget that he was a stranger in this country, to this continent. He'd felt so at home here for the seven years he'd been away from his own house, he couldn't even rightfully call New York his home.

It wasn't hard for him to be away from his parents anymore, though it had felt life threatening when he was young. Roland hadn't seen his parents in over two years, refusing to visit during the holidays or summer break. His mother secretly sent money to him monthly, enough to stay in hotels throughout the breaks away from school, if he saved enough. No one knew that he refused to visit home, even Scorpius was fooled into thinking he had family close by.

Sighing as he joined his boyfriend on the bleachers of the stadium, Roland closed his eyes to the world and leaned back against the seats behind him. As he lay there, listening to the sounds of the wind blowing by and the easy breathing of his boyfriend, Roland was jolted awake by the vibrations of his cell phone.

Hugo peered over the older boy's shoulder, surprised to see the name scrolling across the screen was his mother's. Louise Stone never called her son, avoiding the verbal contact even during the most important holidays of the year. Fear flashed across Roland's suddenly hard features as he jumped from the bench, scrambling to get enough privacy that he could take the call.

Words floated through the air, delayed in their journey to Hugo's ears. "I thought you said he'd be okay... That's bullshit! He's obviously not fine... What am I supposed to say to him when he... first plane ride there... Bye, Mom." Most of the conversation was lost to the wind, but as the thin boy pieced together the terrified look on Roland's face with the general sound of the talk, he knew something was wrong.

As he scurried to calm the brunette down from whatever tragedy he had just been hit with, Hugo winced at the sound of the older boy falling to his knees. Something was wrong, but at the moment he didn't care what it was. The only thing that mattered was calming Roland down enough to be rational.

"Babe, it's okay." Squatting beside the other boy, Hugo was surprised to see tears forming in his dark eyes. Whispering as he cradled the brunette's head to his chest, the thin boy rocking him back and forth. "It'll all be okay."

Choking in the effort to hold back tears, Roland dug his muscular fingers into the cool ground. "No, it's not. Nothing is every fucking okay. I don't know how I'm- My father, he's- He's dying."

* * *

><p>The overcrowded library was the only place Lily felt safe enough to meet with Scorpius and luckily he hadn't said much when he had agreed to meet with her, making it easy for her to make all the decisions. Not that she had given him much choice, the blonde had practically been ordered into conversing with her and she had hung up before he could argue.<p>

Cherry had stayed with Lily in her dorm room for at least an hour, the color slowly starting to return to her face as the redhead assured her that everything would work out just fine. It wasn't something she had wanted to promise, not sure if she would be able to keep it, but calming down the hysterical girl was her first priority.

It had quickly been brought to her attention that Scorpius didn't know that he had knocked up the broken girl, though she was sure that he was suspicious. The three words he had mouthed to her as he was dragged out of the Slytherin common room that night chilled the blonde girl to the bone.

"Is it mine?" That's all it took for her to admit that she could possibly be pregnant and that she needed help. Cherry wasn't sure what had drawn her to the redhead, she was well aware that hatred was the only relationship they would ever have, but she knew that Lily wouldn't leave her alone to deal with this problem.

But why hadn't she? She should have, after everything this girl had done to her; after every dream she had crushed, every memory she had stained, every plan she had soiled. Even Lily wasn't sure why she hadn't closed that door, pretending that she was asleep, ignoring the life being ruined outside her door.

Loyalty. The word ran through the young girl's head continually as she walked through the tall bookcases, avoiding first years scrambling through the isles in order to study for the first tests of the year. Many times she looked over her shoulder towards the door, longingly, as if she might break away at any moment.

Scorpius was leaning against a bookcase on the other side of the wooden table filling the space between the two teens, his blonde hair interfering with the intensity of his stare. Thoughts rushed through his head, worries over what the meeting was about filling his stomach with fluttering beasts.

Not trusting that she would be safe, even in the bustling library, Lily refused get close enough to the table to sit. Standing awkwardly in the entrance to the small alcove that the bookcases produced in the back corner of the room, she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her marshmallow dress.

After what seemed like hours of silence, Scorpius let the tough look slide off his face and sighed. "You asked me here, you know. One would think that you would do most of the talking."

"Right, sorry." Licking her lips, the redhead's eyes flickered to look anywhere but directly at the tall boy. "I don't know how I got wrapped up into this, but Cherry didn't have the guts to tell you herself."

His eyebrows furrowing, the blonde took a seat at the table and shamelessly stared at his ex-girlfriend with concern. She half expected him to interrupt her, doing anything to stray from the topic. But he didn't, though his jaw clenched against the urge to talk.

As she suddenly gained courage, Lily took the seat across from the Slytherin and took a deep breath before just saying what she had come here to tell him. "She's pregnant, Scorpius. And contrary to popular belief, you're the only guy she's- It has to be yours. She's was scared to come to you about it, knowing that you would leave at the first sign of conflict."

This stung the blonde more than it should have, his striking features crumpling. "It's really nice to know how much faith everyone has in me."

"Can you blame her? You don't have the best record of being trustworthy. But that doesn't even really matter right now. She already decided that she doesn't have the heart to- Take care of the problem. So you need to realize that you are going to have a child, whether or not you're a part of it's life is up to you." The old Lily, the one that had fallen for this boy's best tricks, would have crumpled at the sight of Scorpius' reaction to this news, but she wasn't that girl anymore.

Nodding his head, the blonde scared at Lily's forehead until she was forced to look him in the eyes. "Why are you helping? Neither of us have earned your concern, so why do you give a shit what happens to us?"

A sharp laugh erupted from the girl's throat, genuinely surprised at his stupidity. "That's where you have it wrong, Malfoy. I don't give a rat's ass what happens to either of you, but that baby didn't do anything to deserve this. Cherry isn't ready to be a mother, not that I am, but she's going to need a better support system than you're flaky ass. So no, you haven't earned my concern, but I'm going to be here until Cherry tells me otherwise."

Scorpius saw the Lily that he had fallen in love with, the Lily that didn't give a shit what the obstacle was, she was going to push past it. Had that trait disappeared in the past six months or had he just forgotten to look for it? Either way, the boy made a pact with himself that he would get her back. It wasn't an option anymore.

Leaning forward, the blonde clasped her hands before she could pull away. As he pressed her right palm to his heart, his voice dropped to a silky whisper. "I will prove myself to you again, Lily. And I won't stop until you love me again."

But how long would that take?

* * *

><p>Amazingly, Hugo had gotten permission from his father to follow Roland to Brooklyn in order to be there for him when the moment came that he would have to say goodbye to his father. Ron hadn't been thrilled with the concept of his son leaving school in order to follow his boyfriend to a different country without supervision, but how could he not let him be Roland's only support through this horrible event?<p>

The younger boy dreaded the trip, although he was slightly eager to meet the family that had brought his wonderful boyfriend into the world. Roland didn't have the heart to break the news to him that his family was definitely not worth getting excited over.

He hadn't ever opened up to Hugo about what he considered the terrible childhood he had been forced to live through, always keeping details about his home vague and generic. A growing fear of being abandoned by the younger boy filled Roland's head, making him hold on to every word the redhead spoke as if he would never hear his voice again.

Maybe it was a dramatic way to view the situation, but it was better than dwelling on the man laying in a hospital bed only hours away from slipping from the Earth to never return again. The controversy over how he should feel about his father's death and how he actually felt, sent his head spinning in a million different directions.

New York was much larger than Hugo had expected, making him sickened at how exciting it was to be out of England. Leaning against Roland as they climbed out of the taxi, the younger boy stared at his boyfriend's childhood home.

The house was squished between two similar, old two-story houses. It was in need of a new paint job and windows, many of the glass portals covered with black garbage bags. Stairs leading up to the maroon door creaked with the weight of the boys, only partially covering the sounds of crime going on around them.

It wasn't the best neighborhood to raise a family in, yet there were dozens of children under the age of 18 prowling the streets. A group of dark skinned boys stood on the opposite side of the street from the Stone house, watching every move the flamboyant boy made.

They couldn't have been any much older than Hugo, yet something in their faces made them seem like they had seen more of the world than he ever would. It was clear that they weren't fond of the younger boy's presence, their thick lips pulled back in threatening snarls. Only of the oldest adolescents inched his hand towards something thick and black that was nestled in the waistband of his jeans.

Noticing the movement, Roland stepped in front of his boyfriend and nudged his head towards the street corner. His face deadly serious, the brunette was well prepared for any fight that might break out at that very moment. To Hugo's surprise, the teenagers turned to leave, only hesitating slightly before disappearing down the street.

"Let's get inside. It's too obvious that you don't belong here." The words stung Hugo, but not as much as the sudden mannerism change in the older boy. Grabbing the suitcases at his face, Roland pushed through the chipping door into the dim lighting of the house.

A thin, wispy woman appeared in the doorway leading to what Hugo assumed was the kitchen. She seemed surprised to see her son standing in the doorway, but no other emotion showed on her gray face. "Your room's fixed. Scavenge for supper. See you at the hospital."

That was all the woman said before pushing past the boys to exit, staring openly at Hugo as she passed. He felt more uncomfortable by the second, regretting the decision to join Roland on this trip.

Following the tall boy up another set of creaking stairs, the redhead was quickly led into the tiniest bedroom he had ever seen. The only furniture in the room was a queen size bed, an antique desk, and a box TV that he was sure had been bought during the early nineties. Alien designed sheets covered the bed, giving the entire room a juvenile feel.

Catching the boy staring at the poor excuse of a bedroom, Roland slung the suitcases onto the bed and cleared his throat. "We're going to have to share this room. I figured that you can have the bed and I'll just chill on the floor."

There was barely enough room to walk around the tiny space, much less sleep. Hugo shook his head vigorously, reaching out to pull the taller boy towards him. "There's not enough room. We'll just share the bed. I mean, we've napped together before anyway."

Reluctantly, Roland agreed. "We should get going. The hospital is just up the street, so we can reach it by walking."

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><p>Jerry Stone lay in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling as he ignored the quiet mumbles escaping his wife's lips. The thinning of his face was nothing compared to the complete thinning of his hair, his scalp having lost every strand of hair left. It bothered Roland to see his father so weak, having always seen him as the strong man that had raised him as a child.<p>

Watching his parents through the glass of the hospital room divider, the quickly aging boy swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He was thankful that Hugo hadn't spoken to him sense they had left the house, mindlessly aware that it would hurt the situation more than help. Courage tried to spread through his veins, but got stuck halfway through the blood system and preventing him from just walking into the tiny room.

Breaking the oath of silence he had made to himself, Hugo murmured that he would be back with coffee and strolled off into the unfamiliar hallways of the hospital. He listened for the sound of the other boy pushing through the glass doors to join his tiny family, hearing it just as he turned the corner.

Roland slipped into the room as silently as possible, immediately drawing the attention of his sick father. A string of emotions flickered across the older man's face as his eyes focused on his son. "What the hell are you doing here, Roland?"

It wasn't the greeting the brunette had wanted, but it was what he had been expecting, causing him to smile dryly at the man that had put him through eleven years of hell.

"I figured if you were going to die, I should probably see you off before celebrating."

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><p>Hugo was just walking down the hallway that led to Mr. Stone's hospital room, when the door was flung open and a furious Roland was stalking down the hall towards him. The older boy didn't say anything as he grabbed Hugo's thin arm, dragging him towards the exit of the sterile building.<p>

"What's going on? Roland? What happened?" He stumbled as he was pulled backwards, struggling to gain his balance. Had he really been gone so long that Roland was beyond pissed and bawling?

The pair didn't slow until they hit the street, not that Hugo had much choice in the speed that he was being dragged along. Finally calming down enough to speak without growling, Roland watched the younger boy out of the corner of his eye. "Everything is fine. I just needed to get out of there. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Staring at his feet moving quickly under him, Hugo decided to not push the other boy into explaining what had gone on. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long. "I've never been close to my father. He was abusive through my whole childhood, getting as drunk as possible before he'd show up at home.

"I went to therapy for it when I was ten, but it was a waste of time. Why the state thought that slapping the back of my old man's hand would make him change his ways I have no idea, but it didn't work. He just started hitting me in places that no one would see unless I went out of my way to show them. That is, until the summer before I was sent a letter inviting me to attend this strange school.

"Pops wasn't too happy about me being a freak, along with my current status as a failure. So he hit me hard enough to put me in the hospital for a few weeks. The state didn't take too kindly to that but kids from my neighborhood get in trouble all the time, so they sent me to another continent. Which is where I met Scorpius, became somewhat worth something and eventually met you."

The thinner boy listened to the story in horror, not able to comprehend the deep rooted issues he imagined that situation would produce. He was scared to ask, but wanted to know what had happened in that hospital room in order to bring all this up.

Saving his boyfriend from asking, Roland ran a hand through his scruffy hair and sighed. "He started in about how much of a disappointment I am, how I shouldn't have come back. Don't get me wrong, I provoked it a bit but it was still a bit intense. Anyway, he practically ordered me to leave Brooklyn because if the gangs heard that my queer ass was back in town well- I'd regret the decision to show my face here. As if I don't already. His heart rate spiked and now he's gone. Forever."

Hugo had expected tears to slide down Roland's cheeks, but his facial expression didn't change from the blank, hard stare. It was almost worse to deal with than a bawling man.

Reaching out to pull the thin boy against his side, Roland closed his eyes and just breathed. "I can't believe he's gone."

"I love you so much." Hugo whispered it to the thin shirt covering the older boy's chest, blinking back tears that weren't necessarily sad. "If we last, I want kids. I want you to have the chance to prove that you are a much better man than your father."

Smiling at the thought, Roland looked up at the twilight sky. "You've already helped me prove that."

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><p><strong>Sorry this took a while to put up! With the New Years and headaches hitting me constantly, I just hadn't gotten the chance to finish the chapter. Hopefully I'm starting to go in a direction that makes most of you happy! Happy 2012! Leave reviews please!<strong>


	6. Chapter Six: Don't Want to Miss a Thing

**Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to put up.. School started again and I got lazy, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things again. Let me know if you have some ideas of some little plot lines I can throw in, because my list is running a bit low.. Anyway! Leave me reviews please! Love you!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Six: Don't Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith)<span>_

Months had passed since Lily had met Scorpius in the library, his promise to her playing in her head nonstop even though her life was centered around much bigger issues. Cherry's stomach kept growing as she passed into the second trimester. She had the intelligence to realize this would raise suspicions in the student body and she had come up with the plan to eat constantly, due to what would be perceived as "depression" over losing Scorpius.

They had even gone as far as to stage a giant breakup in the middle of class, causing them both to get a month of detention, but the plan had gone off without a hitch. Unfortunately, things weren't playing out as well for Lily.

Now, with the redhead helping the pair as much as she could, she found herself constantly in contact with Scorpius. Tiny butterflies would build in her stomach every time she caught him looking her way, but they were immediately squashed when she thought about all of the horrible things he had done to her. Yet she found herself watching the way his eyes would crinkle when he genuinely smiled or how he would run his long fingers through his blonde hair when he was nervous. She was falling for him again and it made her want to scream and cry in frustration.

Now she sat in a carpeted waiting room with sky blue walls and a flat-screen TV that was turned to a interior design program, the volume down low enough that only mumbles filled the room with white noise. Lily and Scorpius sat on either side of Cherry, the two blondes' fingers intertwined in anticipation of what would be said in the next hour.

Pulling every string she had in the school, Lily had managed to get them far enough away from Hogwarts that Scorpius could apparate himself and the two girls to the doctor's office in London that they made an appointment with the day before. The redhead was still on edge, half expecting Percy Weasley to burst into the room at any moment.

Luckily, the large wooden door leading into the doctor's offices opened and a heavy set woman stepped in the practically empty room, holding a clipboard with an intimidating stack of papers attached. "Cherry and Scorpius Malfoy?"

She spoke the names as though they were married, which explained her shock at seeing the three teenagers sitting in the waiting room. Wiping the surprised look off of her face, the woman led the little group through the door and down a short hallway, herding them into a small, sterile room.

Looking down at Lily and Cherry's stomachs in turn, she led Cherry to sit on what looked like a chair that could be laid down to become a makeshift bed. The tiny blonde hoisted herself onto the seat, her legs scraping against the thin paper covering the leather.

It was soon apparent that the room only had one visitor's chair, causing a problem seeing as there was both Scorpius and Lily standing awkwardly to the side of the door. The woman noticed this, a kind smile sliding onto her plump face. "I can find an extra chair when I'm done doing this check up."

Motioning for Lily to take the chair, Scorpius flashed a shy smile as if testing the waters between them. The redhead shook her head, instead leaning against the wall beside the door and watched the tall blonde sit.

"Alright, I just have a few questions to ask before the doctor can come in." The nurse's voice was surprisingly quiet as she finished checking Cherry's blood pressure. "First, I need to know who everyone is in context with the fetus."

Clearing his throat, Scorpius sat forward in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair. "She's obviously the mom. I'm the dad. And this is-" He looked towards Lily before speaking again, "She's just a friend that's helping us out."

Nodding thoughtfully, the nurse scribbled on her clipboard before turning to speak directly to Cherry. "Okay, dear. The earlier you make the decision on whether you'd like to keep your baby, the better. Of course there's always adoption and other options. Have you given any thought to what you want to do?"

"We're keeping our baby." Scorpius cut in before the blonde had a chance to answer, his blue eyes boring into hers as she stared at him in disbelief. It was the first time he had referred to the fetus as something they would share.

Tears welling up in her eyes, Cherry nodded. "Whatever you want."

The silent exchange between the blondes made Lily both uncomfortable and jealous. It was stupid of her to feel envy towards what they shared, she in no way wanted to be in the other girl's shoes, but it still hurt to see the way Scorpius looked at her. Maybe it was a mistake to agree to help, but it was too late now.

Watching the three teenagers with curiosity, the nurse recognized drama waiting to happen. "That's all I need to know for now. There is a hospital gown on the counter, please have changed into that by the time the doctor comes in."

After the woman left, Lily crossed the room to grab the hospital gown. "Are you going to need some help?"

Nodding slowly, the thin girl's face turned red with embarrassment. Cherry had been struggling to do everything herself over the past few months, not wanting anyone to see the purple stretch marks that covered her once tight stomach, but even she realized that eventually she would have to accept help.

"I'll do it." Scorpius said quickly, taking the thin cloth from Lily. Both girls looked shocked, though the look on Cherry's face was closer to mortified. She began to object but he cut her off, "If I was close enough to you to get you pregnant, I'm close enough to help you get dressed."

Whether it was due to the hormones or the overwhelming feeling of love, Cherry began to sob uncontrollably. Lily saw this as her opportunity to leave, exiting the room to stand right outside.

Leaning up against the wall, the redhead squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Did she enjoy putting herself through this pain? If the only reason she was here was to take care of Cherry when Scorpius slipped up, then why did it bother her so much that he was actually doing something right for once?

She knew the answer. If he fell for Cherry before the baby came then the baby would have a family and everyone would be perfectly happy.

Everyone except Lily.

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><p>"Well, my dear, the fetus is doing quite well. It seems very pleased with it's current living conditions. Let's try to keep it that way." The doctor pulled Cherry's hospital gown back over her stomach, smiling kindly at her tear-streaked face. "Now do we want to know the gender or would you like it to be a surprise?"<p>

Looking up at Scorpius, who stood beside her and was holding onto her hand like it would keep him from dying, Cherry smiled sadly. "I want to know. What about you?"

His face was so sickly pale it looked like he might fall over dead at any moment, but he found his voice and croaked out a small affirmative. Needless to say, after having sex with the blonde laying helplessly on the table, Scorpius didn't want to think about anything coming out of that once tight opening.

Lily sat on the other side of the small room, watching the tall boy's face closely. She was on the edge of her seat as if preparing to spring across the room and save him from hitting the floor at any moment.

Turning to run his finger over the monitor, the doctor smiled down at the weak girl laying on the 'bed'. "It looks as though you're going to be giving birth to a beautiful baby girl."

A sharp intake of breath made the entire room turn to look at Scorpius. His eyes refused to move from the screen as his hand reached out to touch the moving picture, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. It broke Lily's heart to see him cry, even though it was joyous tears.

"That's my daughter." He whispered quietly, a goofy smile spreading across his tan face.

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><p>Cherry gripped her back as she discreetly hobbled towards the staircases leading to her next class, attempting to hold her heavy textbooks at the same time. No one at school except herself, Scorpius and Lily knew about the pregnancy, which posed a problem with trying to keep from looking like a far along mother would.<p>

Reaching out to grab her books from her hand, Scorpius stepped up beside her. He had seen her struggling to get to the stairs and had rushed to catch up with her, not wanting suspicions to be raised about the way she was waddling.

"You really should ask someone to help you. All this strain isn't good for you." He whispered down into her ear, smoothly brushing strands of blonde hair away from her face. Their sudden contact with each other created whispers throughout the crowded staircases as they rose to the seventh floor, but the blondes didn't pay attention.

A sudden gloominess soured Cherry's mood, causing her face to crumple into an aggravated expression. "I get that you surprisingly care about the baby, but you don't have to pretend that you give a shit about me. You never had feelings for me anyway, it's not going to change now."

This seemed to shock Scorpius. He wasn't sure where the sudden aggravation had come from, but he couldn't help defend himself even though he knew it was earned by him. "What are you talking about? I care about you, Cherry. Maybe it just wasn't the type of feelings you were hoping for."

"You're right." Spinning on her heel to step in front of the tall boy, she stared up at his face hopelessly. "You only ever cared about me when you wanted to get laid. Maybe you should have realized that I'm in love with you. It hurts like hell to know that while I'm staying up at night thinking about you, you couldn't give two shits about me. Just admit that if it wasn't for the baby you wouldn't even be standing here right now."

Opening his mouth to argue, something in the hurt girl's eyes made Scorpius clam up. She was definitely right, the blonde boy hadn't even thought of her as more than a toy to play with whenever he fancied. But now she was going to have his baby and there was no doubt that their paths would forever be intertwined. So then was as good a time as ever to just tell the truth.

Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut tightly before speaking quietly, "I care about you, but just as the mother of my child. I'm so sorry."

He reached out to comfort her but she stepped away before he could. "Don't be sorry, Malfoy. I'm sorry that I had any hopes in the first place. See you around."

Taking back her books, the young girl turned on her heel and ascended the rest of the stairs hurriedly. Why did everything have to turn to shit so quickly?

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><p>Droplets of water tracked down Lily's raincoat, propelling her to reach the cover of the Forbidden Forest. She could see the two blondes already waiting on the edge of the forest, watching her thin form grow closer. Pulling the collar of her inner jacket up around her ears, the redhead reached the pair waiting for her.<p>

"Sorry I'm late. Albus decided he was going to keep me from leaving the common room." She sighed, letting her weight shift from foot to foot. "What did you need me for?"

Cherry's pale lips spread into a sad smile. Reaching out, the blonde girl pulled Lily's hand to lay across her slightly bulging stomach. A sudden thump of force hit the redhead's hand, sending her reeling backwards in shock. Scorpius' smile was startling in the darkness of the tree cover as he genuinely laughed at the girl's surprise.

He had gotten over the guilt of causing Cherry so much pain rather quickly, his mind immediately flipping to think only of his daughter. What had once been fright and worry over his abilities to be a father had now turned to anticipation. If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was how unconditionally he loved the tiny human that was growing within the girl standing beside him.

Catching eyes with the thrilled boy, Lily couldn't help but smile dumbly. She quickly realized that their eye contact had lasted too long and shifted her focus back to Cherry's protruding belly. "That's amazing. It's all so real now."

"It hurts like hell, but at least I know that the baby's doing alright." The thin, blonde girl whispered as she ran her sloppily manicured hands over her stomach. It didn't occur to the others at that moment, but Cherry had yet to refer to the baby as hers. Even she wasn't aware of the true meaning behind her detachment at that moment, though it would become clear to her sooner rather than later.

Laughing as she felt the thump of the infant's kicks against her palm yet again, Lily nodded. "I think kickboxing is a good career choice for you to look into for her."

The lightheartedness of the laughter from the three teens was darkened by the figures lurking in the shadows of the forest behind them. A pair of young Slytherins had overheard the entire conversation, quickly piecing together the truth of what was tying the three older students to each other in more ways than one.

By the time Cherry, Lily and Scorpius had returned to the castle, almost every student within earshot of the young Slytherins knew about the secret pregnancy. It was too late to stop the rumors from spreading, not that Cherry cared to try. Listening to the vicious words being flung at her from all sides, the blonde girl lost control of her sanity.

It was at that moment that she realized that she hadn't, nor would she ever, fit in Scorpius' world. And there was no reason to pretend that the situation was any different where the baby was concerned. The best thing for her daughter was to disappear as soon as possible.

And that's exactly what she planned to do.

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><p>Dark hands slammed Scorpius against the stone wall of the common room. Roland didn't care that the entire room of students had frozen, watching the ex-best friends prepare to tear into each other. His hot breath washed over the blonde's tan face, their eyes meeting in a hard look of temporary hatred.<p>

"What the hell, Stone?" Shoving the darker boy away from him, Scorpius shook of the embarrassment of being caught off guard.

Not answering right away, Roland grabbed his best friend's shoulder and shoved him out of the common room, not stopping until they were safely in hallway of the dorm rooms. "Do you just enjoy being a dumb ass? Because you're fucking succeeding." The dark haired boy spit the words with as much venom as he could muster, his entire body shaking in rage.

It hadn't taken long for the news of Cherry's pregnancy to reach the seventh year, immediately sending him into a frenzy of rage. He didn't think that the fellow boy could screw up his life any more than he already had, but obviously that theory had been proven wrong rather quickly. Hugo had seemed more upset that he had been out of the loop for so long rather than angry, but he didn't bother trying to stop Roland from searching for the Slytherin Slut. The nickname had been whispered in hushed voices for weeks, but now that the biggest scandal to happen had Hogwarts had been reveled, it was loudly pronounced throughout the student body.

"Jesus Christ. Get out of my face before you end up out a window." Scorpius mumbled, turning to walk away from a disastrous fight that he could feel brewing. All of his energy had been drained from trying to stop the vicious rumors about Cherry spreading through the school, the only thing he wanted to do now was fall asleep and not wake up for a very long time.

Roland wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily though. Grabbing the back of his friends sweater, the brunette pulled him backwards. "You can't just blow this off, Malfoy. This isn't even about you anymore. There's a life in stake now."

Spinning on his heel, Scorpius stepped into the other boy's face, his eyes filled with determined fury. "You really think I don't know that? I'm not as stupid as everyone assumes. So butt your faggot ass out."

A sudden shove sent Roland staggering to the ground. When had their relationship turned from carefree and brotherly to this aggressive, insolent hatred. The ghetto part of Roland that had made a reappearance after visiting his family screamed to pummel the blonde standing above him, but the seventeen year old just started laughing uncontrollably.

This didn't go over well with Scorpius, his face taking on a furious expression of embarrassment. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"What are we doing, Scorpius?" Roland choked on his laughter, his brown eyes meeting the slowly melting blue of Scorpius'. "So much has happened and we don't even like each other enough to talk. I miss you, man."

His hard expression shattering, Scorpius reached down to help the brunette to his feet. "Same here. I'm going to be a father and you- Well I don't even know what's up with your crazy ass."

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Roland shrugged. "My dad died. Finally. Our last conversation didn't go over too well. Anyway, that's not even important right now. How are you going to take care of a baby?"

"No idea. But one thing's for sure. She's going to have the best life I can possibly give to her." And just like that, the most important relationship either of them would ever have was repaired.

Bumping his shoulder against the blonde's, Roland smiled at the concept. "I believe it."

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><p>Cold air bit at Lily's cheeks and nose, making her eyes flicker towards the window she had used to reach her secret spot on the Astronomy Tower, longing to return to the warmth of her bed. Elle and 'Manda had been chewing her ear off for the past two hours over how stupid it was to help the very people that had ruined her life, driving her away from the warmth in order to find peace and quiet.<p>

Just as she was moving towards the window, a dark form appeared at the edge of the roof. "Oh shit. Sorry, I didn't know you were- I'll leave."

Tensing up at the sound of Scorpius' voice cutting through the bubble of silence she had surrounded herself with, Lily mouth betrayed her brain. "You can stay."

She could see the older boy's outline freeze before crawling up onto the roof beside her. After he was settled a full foot away from her, the silence resettled across the roof. Though it now seemed wrong to not say anything to the one person that she had so much to say to.

"You needed peace and quiet too?" Lily whispered to the night sky, trying to keep emotion out of her voice.

Pulling his feet under his thighs, Scorpius stared at the sprinkles of light glittering across the vast blackness spreading out before him. "Yeah." They stopped speaking after that, only jump starting the conversation when Lily moved to leave. "Roland and I are cool again. He wants to help with the baby, Hugo too."

Lily smiled at the thought of her cousin's reaction to a fresh person that he could mold into a fashionable, gorgeous mini-him. "That's really great. It seems you won't need my help much anymore."

Blonde hair swung towards her quickly, "Are you kidding? You're the glue that's holding this mess together, Lily."

Even though she knew it was true, the redhead couldn't help but feel saddened by the feelings of being unneeded. It bothered her to know that Scorpius still had enough power of her to spiral her into any sort of emotion. The transformation into the new Lily was supposed to take care of her ties to the older boy, but it had only seemed to glue their destinies together even more.

Reaching out to touch Lily's hand before she slipped from the roof, Scorpius met her eyes in the dark. "I meant what I said, you know. You'll love me again."

"I know." The redhead whispered so quietly he almost missed the words.

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><p>Students chattered loudly as they were set free to begin the Potions assignment that was due at the end of the hour. Cherry took to making the potion quietly, not having received a partner because no one wanted to be associated with the pregnant girl. It hurt her more than she let show, forcing her to hide the thick tears that slipped silently down her thinning cheeks.<p>

Even the new Potions professor watched her with a scrutinizing gaze. It was as though the blonde couldn't see what was going on, or maybe they just assumed that she didn't matter enough to worry over. She had just started to have enough with the vulgar whispers floating throughout the room when the door was pulled open.

To her surprise, Scorpius strode into the room confidently, looking for something with a determined look on his face. Laying eyes on the thin blonde, the older boy crossed the room to stand directly in front of her.

"Scorpius, what are you doing? You're going to get me in trouble." She hissed, already watching the professor make her way towards the corner of the room where the pair stood.

Shaking his head, the tall boy raised his hand as if to stop the worry from entering Cherry's head. "I don't care. I was sitting in my class and something hit me. You don't seem to realize how much I want us to work out as a family.

"You said you knew that I didn't love you and maybe that's true, but that doesn't mean we can't be there for our baby in the same ways that a couple would be. I want to be in my daughter's life as much as possible and no one is going to stop me from doing that. So it's time that you realize that I'm always going to be around. And I need to know if you can handle that."

It was such a random time to bring up the issue, and it be such a public discussion, that Cherry was speechless. What was she supposed to say the boy looming above her? No, you can't be the father you want to be?

Shaking her head in disbelief, the thin girl looked at the shocked faces throughout the room. "That's- Okay? Sure, Scorpius. I'm not going to stop you from anything."

He didn't bother telling her that he had been kicked out of his class only five minutes prior, because he had punched a grimy, Ravenclaw boy after he had made a comment about how Cherry should take all paternal rights away from Scorpius. Nor did he let it be known how much the concept had scared him. His life was already centered around his unborn child so completely, he couldn't fathom not being there for the tiny life form.

"Great. Have a nice class." Kissing the girl on the cheek quickly, Scorpius turned and strode out of the classroom as quick as he had entered.

Men.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? I'm sorry that it's been a while since I last posted.. School. :( Anyway, leave me reviews please! Love you guys! <strong>


	7. Chapter Seven: Won't Go Home Without You

**Hey everyone! I don't much to say.. I hope you like it! I'm trying to post on this story every other weekend.. It's working okay so far! Leave reviews please!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Seven: Won't Go Home Without You (Maroon 5)<span>_

Joining her cousin and two best friends at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Lily flashed a quick smile at Elle before scanning the room for the object of her desire. Not surprisingly, Cherry and Scorpius were sitting together on the other side of the giant room, laughing at the conversation they were having with Roland.

After their conversation on the roof of the Astronomy Tower, Lily had found herself less jealous of the attention Scorpius was giving the thin blonde. It had been stupid to have any sort of envy where Cherry was concerned and, like he always had, the blonde boy had taught her this without even realizing it. The comment he had made about her love for him returning changed something inside of her, turning her entire outlook on life positive.

If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Lily, who was doing so much for a girl she had once despised. And the only way her life would ever be complete is if Scorpius Malfoy. But it wasn't as if she was just going run back to him, for it would be extremely juvenile and stupid of her to trust him willingly. She had promised herself to be logical when it came to the Slytherin, but to also stay open minded when he tried to fix things between them.

As if he realized she was thinking about him, Scorpius caught eyes with her, his face lighting up with a brilliant smile. Butterflies formed in the redhead's stomach, yet she smiled back shyly and sent him a half-wave. Playing hard-to-get wasn't going to be as easy as she had hoped. Spotting the Slytherin girl watch the exchange with unease and jealous, Lily pulled herself back to what was going on at the table she was actually sitting at.

"I'm not saying that you aren't intelligent, Elle. But seven inch heels weren't the smartest thing to wear when tracking through the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid." Hugo grinned as he teased the girl, waving his fork as he spoke. "This is why I always say to never get dressed without me. You have a gay best friend, use me."

Shaking her head humorously, Lily picked apart a dinner roll that sat in the center of her plate. The opening of the Great Hall doors interrupted the students' dinner as everyone turned to watch Headmaster Weasley, Ginny and Harry Potter stride into the giant room.

Albus, who sat with Rose a few feet away from their siblings, caught eyes with his sister, worry obvious in his green eyes. He didn't know any more about their parents' sudden arrival than Lily, but the anxiety that it might have something to do with his prior visit coursed through him. Despite popular belief, Albus didn't enjoy getting his siblings in trouble and he feared that he might have managed to do as much without even trying.

Harry scanned the room as he followed his brother-in-law through the sea of students, occasionally catching glimpses of teenagers that he recognized because of their parents. Finally laying eyes on his daughter as he reached the front of the Great Hall, the man sighed deeply and motioned for her to join him.

Reluctantly, Lily wound through the room to where her parents stood, refusing to look at her fellow students for fear of letting them see the embarrassment tinging her cheeks a bright pink. How could he make such a large spectacle in front of the very people she had to live with on a daily basis? She hoped that he would at least have the decency to discipline her out of the public eye.

No one spoke as the redhead reached her parents, casting her darkly lined eyes to the ground when she saw the horror in her mother's eyes as she took in the drastic change in her hair. What had once seemed like a defiant, bad ass decision, now made her feel stupid and childish. Relief coursed through her as her father half-smiled down at her before turning to leave the silent room in order to speak to her.

As Lily walked, she kept her gaze pointed straight ahead, not aware of the worried expression plastered to Scorpius' face. Only the shock of Cherry's cool hand on his forearm kept him from following the tiny family, wanting to protect the redhead from whatever punishment she was sure to get.

Turning to face his daughter the moment the giant, wooden doors closed behind him, Harry let his eyes scan over 'the damage'. When he found none, a loud sigh escaped his lips. "It was brought to my attention that a new life is going to soon be brought into this world. For a moment, I had the thought that it was my daughter, but then I remembered how intelligent the young woman I raised was and I knew it couldn't have been you. I'm pleased to find that I was right for once."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her husband's dramatic word choice, reaching out to touch the edges of the straight, rusty locks of hair brushing her daughter's shoulders. "Hush, Harry. We raised her well enough that she knows how to make her own decisions."

"I'm sorry, Mum. My hair- I just needed a change, a way to start over. It wasn't meant to hurt you." Lily hadn't thought about the repercussions of her actions when she had asked Hugo to chop off her hair, never imagining that it would bother her mother as much as it did.

To her surprise, Ginny smiled brightly, all traces of sadness disappearing from her familiar face. "There's no need for apologies, dear. For any of the things you have done. The pregnant girl knows how much you have helped her and I imagine even Scorpius has showed his gratitude."

Rolling her eyes, Lily let herself relax as she realized that she wasn't in trouble. "Everyone is helping out with the baby. I was just one of the first people told."

"I'm so proud of you, Lily Luna. Just don't let yourself get drawn into his tricks again." Harry spoke in whispers as if mentioning Scorpius would make him appear in the hallway.

Too bad she was already falling for him all over again.

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><p>"What do you mean she's suddenly a lesbian?" Roland asked the ceiling rather than turn to speak to the thin boy standing at the end of the bed. He lay on Hugo's bed, his dark hair splayed across the white pillows as he listened to the sounds of the younger boy digging around in his trunk. "Did she just decide this or has she just been waiting to come out?"<p>

Popping up from the floor, Hugo shrugged. "I think she's known for a while, but didn't have the courage. She decided to talk to me about it, for obvious reasons."

Roland nodded, sitting up and pulled his boyfriend onto the bed next to him. Winding their fingers together, both teenagers lay, staring at the ceiling in silence. With their best friends occupied with the upcoming birth of Cherry's baby, Roland and Hugo had been able to spend a lot of time with just each other.

The night before, when the younger boy had been sitting in the Great Hall, it had come to his realization that this would be Roland's last year at Hogwarts. Sudden terror had struck him, causing him to physically shake with the fear of losing the most important thing in his life.

He wasn't sure how to bring up his worries to the brunette, but as they lay on the dark sheets of his bed, the words began to flow. "What are we going to do about next year? I'll be stuck here and you- I can't lose you."

"Babe," Roland turned to stare until the younger boy's avoiding eyes would meet his. "I'll always be around. Besides, we don't even know if I'll be able to graduate this year."

Due to the boy's lack of drive over the past seven years, it had come to his attention that there was a definite danger of being held back from graduating. He had learned from James Potter how much it would suck to waste another year of life at Hogwarts.

Sighing softly, Hugo shook his head. "You'll graduate. I have faith in you. I just- Are we going to stay together?"

It was a question that had been screaming inside of his mind for days, but now he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. Clearly, the homosexual couple loved each other, but was it enough to keep them together for the two years they would have to be apart?

As if he could hear the younger boy's thoughts, Roland chuckled. "I hate to break it to you, my dear, but you're stuck with me. Forever."

* * *

><p>A soft green hue tinted Lily's face as she strolled through the Herbology Greenhouses, her fingers brushing the slick, damp leaves of each plant. Now that the entire student body knew about Scorpius' child and that Lily had decided to help him with it, there was a constant whisper filling the silence that she tried to surround herself with. Even the grounds of Hogwarts, where the redhead used to take comfort in strolling alone, was now littered with gossiping teenagers.<p>

It was there, walking among the plants, that Scorpius found Lily. At first, he stood out-of-sight, listening to the soft hums escaping her lips. Eventually Lily caught a glimpse of his blonde hair and, trying to act calmer than she was, stepped into his immediate line of sight. "Do you need something? Or do you just really enjoy stalking ex-girlfriends?" Shrugging, Scorpius turned to leave the Greenhouse, but was stopped a reluctant sigh. "I didn't say that you had to leave."

"You really should make up your mind, Potter." Scorpius smirked, leaning against a tall cabinet filled with fertilizer, managing to look cooler than ever. "Because I don't believe that you want me to go away, now do you?" He stepped forward, pinning the girl to the cabinet with his arms on either side of her head. The fright in Lily's eyes almost broke the charade, but he fought against it.

Suddenly recognizing the games he was playing with her, Lily huffed. "To be left alone would be the best thing to happen to me in a long time. But you never were one for giving people what they actually want."

This managed to shatter every ounce of confidence Scorpius had mustered up, resulting in his surrender. Dropping his hands, the blonde raked his fingers through his hair. "If that's what you want." He turned to leave, but stopped. "I don't blame you for hating me, Lily. I'd hate me too."

"I don't hate you." The comment was a delayed whisper, reaching the tall boy just as he reached the door leading away from the girl that had once loved him more than life itself. The redhead waited until their eyes were connected before she continued, "It would be so much easier if I did, but I can't. We were friends too, whether you want to admit it or not. That was the worst part about losing you."

She had never referred to the break-up as her losing Scorpius, always letting him take the guilt of their separation. It was enough to fill the blonde with hope, "We can still be friends, Lil. Let me prove myself to you again."

How could he expect her trust to return that quickly? It wasn't that Lily was trying to make things hard for the blonde, but he had ruined the very possibility of her trusting someone outside of her inner circle again. But before she could explain this, her heart betrayed her in the largest of ways. "If you can recognize boundaries, we can try being friends."

The excited look on Scorpius' face stopped her from backtracking and she was quickly pulled into a tight hug. Whispering down into her ear, the blonde ran his hands over her back. "You won't regret it."

_Please, don't be lying._

* * *

><p>A shrill ringing woke Cherry from her afternoon slumber, forcing her to stumble over dirty clothes to reach the cell phone. She had found herself more exhausted as the months passed, creating an incredible rise in her sleeping hours. It was as if the child growing inside of her was drinking up every ounce of energy she could muster.<p>

Smashing the cold piece of plaster to her face, Cherry collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. "Hello?"

"You sound horrible." The pregnant girl's younger sister, Marnie, spoke from the other end of the phone, her voice laced with worry. "Why do you feel the need to lie about how exhausted you are?"

Cherry shrugged, realized that the younger girl couldn't see her, and cleared the raspy tone from her throat. "I've been busy with homework and things. There's no need to be bitchy, Squirt."

The childhood nickname made both girls smile, breaking the tension between them. Marnie was the first to speak after a few minutes of peaceful silence, "Are you sure you want to do this? It's your baby too."

Did the blonde really want to abandon the very thing linking her to the person that she loved? That was exactly why she needed to do it, to get as far away from Scorpius Malfoy as possible. The poison that coursed through her only managed to ruin every relationship she had ever had.

Nodding to herself, Cherry whispered. "Once I have the baby, I'll stay long enough to keep Scorpius off of my case. Then I'll leave. Once and for all."

It was what needed to be done.

* * *

><p>"Come in." Percy's voice sounded from within the office, beyond the wooden door Roland stood behind. Pushing it open, the muscular brunette entered the room cautiously. He couldn't count how many time he had been called to this office, given detention for whatever crime he had committed that week, but never had he ascended the stairs out of his own want.<p>

Standing awkwardly in the doorway, Roland waited until the older Weasley looked up from the papers he had been shuffling around on his desk. If the man was surprised, he didn't show it, just motioned for the seventeen year old to take a seat in front of him. Once settled, Roland shifted his gaze around the room in order to prolong speaking.

Percy watched a nervous tick cause the brunette's leg to bounce uncontrollably. It was as if the boy couldn't sit still in front of adults, like he was preparing to bolt out of the room at any moment. Leaning forward in his chair, the Headmaster's curiosity drove him to bluntness. "What did you need, Mr. Stone? I can't imagine that you've come to turn yourself in for something.

This managed to make the teenager chuckle, his entire body visibly relaxing. "No, actually. I'm a good boy this year, haven't you heard? I came by to see how damaged my reputation is."

Surprise flashed across the redhead's face, but was quickly concealed. "Well let's take a look." Crossing the room to ascend a short set of stairs, Percy disappeared into the upper level of the office. Almost five minutes later, the Headmaster returned with a file so thick that he couldn't hold it in one hand. "What exactly are you looking to accomplish by knowing this?"

"I need to graduate this year. And since I haven't exactly taken the past six years seriously, it's better to start late rather than never." Roland shifted in his seat, his fingers itching with the need to reach out and snatch the file away from the older man. Instead, his leg began to bounce twice as fast as before, his tan fingers raking through his dark hair. "What do you see?"

Eyes flickering up to take in his nephew's boyfriend, Percy smiled to himself. Something had changed within Roland Stone that was for the better and it was exciting to see. "I see a desperate man that wants to better himself. As for your chances of graduating," The redhead looked down to finger through the papers again. "under normal circumstance there would be no way for you to gain enough ground in order to graduate with your class."

Deflating, Roland cursed under his breath. He should have known that it would be too late for him to better himself. Why should he even try? For Hugo. The words had been repeated in his mind a million times over the past week. "So there's nothing I can do?"

"You misheard me, Mr. Stone. I said under normal circumstances, which these are not." Grinning at the seventeen year old, Percy slammed the folder shut. "There's always a way."

* * *

><p>Lily sat in the slowly emptying common room, anticipation flowing through her. Twenty minutes prior, she had been sitting on her bed, conversing with Elle about nothing in particular, when Scorpius had emailed her. After begging her for fifteen minutes, the blonde had talked Lily into helping him write the Potions essay that was due tomorrow.<p>

Elle, who had been acting as Hugo's sidekick in protecting Lily, was very reluctant to let her leave the dorm room. She didn't trust Scorpius Malfoy any farther than she could throw him, he had ruined that for her at the beginning of the school year. Eventually, the redhead had managed to slip from the room and down into the common room.

The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, revealing a pair of giggling second years. Meeting each other's eyes as Scorpius followed into the room, the girls squealed when he smiled at them. Lily couldn't help but laugh, the Prince of Slytherin still had his wooing powers.

Silence filled the common room as the blonde's eyes scanned the room for Lily. When he found her, his smile widened and he crossed to sit beside her at the wooden table. "I can't explain to you how in your debt I am."

"Yeah, yeah. That's nothing new." The tone of her voice was sharp and judgmental, but her blue eyes sparkled with the humor of the situation. "Let's get started."

Listening to the whispers hissing around the room, Scorpius shook his bangs in front of his face. No one seemed too pleased that the enemy was among them, curses and vulgar comments swirling around him. Under normal circumstances, he would have used force to put an end to the conversations, but instead he yanked parchment out of his bag. If he was going to make Lily see that he was serious about them being together, he needed to push aside all the bad things that surrounded him at all times.

Shifting closer to the redhead, Scorpius scrawled his name in the corner of the paper. "Ready."

* * *

><p>"I think we're done." Lily said through a yawn, her eyes skimming the paper lay out in front of Scorpius. She stood behind him, leaning over his shoulder in order to see the handiwork they had produced over the last two hours. The common room had emptied long ago, leaving the pair to work in peace.<p>

For a moment, the redhead let herself think that things were normal again. Imagining that Scorpius, her boyfriend yet again, had asked for her help on a Sunday night, but really only wanted to spend time with her. It didn't take long for thoughts of Cherry and the baby to invade her paradise though, ruining the happiness that she hadn't felt in a long time. If she didn't give in to the fantasies, then there was no harm. Right?

Scorpius was hyper-aware of the physical contact, his breath picking up as he began to shove papers into his bag. "Thank you again. It means a lot."

Nodding as she stepped back from behind his chair, Lily slipped her thumbs into her back pockets. "You're welcome. That's what friends do, right?" A sexy smirk was plastered to her face as she walked the blonde to the common room entrance, pulling it open in a silent farewell.

Mirroring the redhead's smirk, Scorpius let his body fall against the entrance wall. "If that's really want you want to be, then yes. But I think we both know what I want."

He knew immediately that he had pushed the issue to far, Lily's face hardening as she pushed him out into the hall. The Fat Lady sneered at him, only adding to his embarrassment. Running his fingers through his hair, Scorpius turned to stroll towards the stairs.

Inside the dimly lit common room, Lily's back was pressed to the entrance door, butterflies beating inside of her stomach. As she forced herself to breathe slowly, thoughts of what could be invaded her mind, pushing away all traces of common sense.

Friends. The word didn't seem to describe the kind of relationship she wanted with the Slytherin. Things were bound to change.

Soon.

* * *

><p>Percy pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself before he exploded. Opening his eyes to look at the two boys sitting before him, the Headmaster sighed. "Detention. For a month. Please, don't try to argue."<p>

"We won't." Roland spoke quietly, pressing a wad of paper towels to his misshapen nose. Looking towards his best friend, an accomplished grin spread across his bloody face.

Thirty minutes prior, one of the largest physical fights in Hogwarts had erupted in the Great Hall corridor. And, as to be expected, Roland and Scorpius had been in the middle of it. Adrenaline stick coursed through the boys' veins, all thanks to the homophobic tendencies of a group of sixth years.

Shaking his head, the redhead leaned forward to get a closer look at the bruised teenagers. "Would you like to explain why you decided to attack a student younger than you?"

Meeting Roland's dark eyes, Scorpius' smirk widened. "No comment."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry guys! Here this is.. Hope you like it! Love you! Review plz. :))<strong>


	8. Chapter Eight: Jailhouse Rock

**Hey guys! I don't really have much to say... So here we go! Please leave reviews! They make me smile. :) **

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter Eight: Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley)<span>_

A strong hand gripped 'Manda's arm, pulling her backwards as she tried to make her way down the hall. For a moment, she tensed in anticipation of an attack but was even less excited to see Elle standing inches from her. The thin yet curvy girl had her fists planted on her hips and a weary scowl plastered to her pretty face. "What the hell are you doing? I swear you have lost your mind."

Even with her voice dropped to a whisper, Elle's comment caused 'Manda to flinch. She had been dreading the moment that her best friend would find her, not wanting to cause any more confrontation than she already had. So instead of answering, the taller of the two girls shrugged and looked away.

"That's not good enough. You swore that you wouldn't tell anyone. And then you go and out yourself to the entire school? Roland and Scorpius are Headmaster Weasley's office right now because you caused a stir in the way things are." Elle was watching the flow of student's surrounding them in the crowded hallway, looking for any sign of the two delinquent boys.

Jerking back at the mention of her secret promise to Elle, 'Manda made her way to lean against the cold window overlooking the snow covered courtyard in the center of the school. She understood that she was the reason Scorpius and Roland had started the fight, but how could Elle expect her to keep such a big part of her life secret.

Actually, the answer was completely clear. If someone had the desire to look farther into 'Manda's sudden realization that she was a lesbian, they would quickly see the strange connection that the two girls had always had. Just as she was opening her mouth to apologize for putting Elle's reputation in jeopardy, Lily and Hugo joined them in the slowly thinning hallway.

"What happened to Scorpius and Roland? I had to ask a second year what was going on with everyone, only to find out that they're in Percy's office because of a fight?" Lily spoke first, swiftly getting to the point without a frantic interruption from Hugo. "'Manda, what's wrong?"

Shrugging yet again, the dark haired girl peeked at Elle from under her bangs and wasn't surprised to see that the previous scowl was still present. Lead filled her chest, keeping her from breathing, as the horrible possibility of losing her best friend coursed through her like a poison. Should she have kept quiet about her true identity or was the repercussions just too much to take at the moment?

Elle shook her head in answer to Lily's question. "She's just upset, because she's the reason the fight happened." As if she could feel how much this hurt the dark haired girl, she quickly backtracked. "It's not true though. Scorpius and Roland had been walking down the hallway when someone shoved 'Manda and called her a- I'd rather not repeat it. Some cocky sixth year had decided to turn it into an all-over homophobic comment fest, which didn't sit well with either of them as you can well imagine.

"I just barely saw Scorpius move and then the entire section of the hall burst into a fight zone. Roland's nose was broken but I think they can fix it fairly easily." She spoke this quickly, so as to not concern Hugo more, then turned to speak directly to Lily again. "I didn't see anything wrong with Scorpius, but everything was moving so fast, I can't be sure."

Breaking into loud sobs, Hugo's knees gave out and he was quickly pulled against his cousin's side. "He promised that he wasn't going to do anything to get himself kicked out of school. How are we supposed to be together now?"

The words were broken by tear-filled cries, but Lily heard them perfectly. A sudden fear tore through her body, almost dropping her to her knees along with her cousin. It was then, in the hallway, that the redhead gave up on trying to maintain the strength to stay away from Scorpius. Making a secret pact to herself, she decided that the very next time they saw each other, she would express them to him.

Well, maybe not the very next time.

* * *

><p>Loud chattering filled Percy's office, making his headache grow as the group of witches and wizards filed in. When Lily Potter closed the door with a final thud, the room went silent. Percy scanned the overcrowded room, connecting eyes with his own family in the silence. "I have called this- meeting in order to take present some of the recent events openly."<p>

Ginny and Harry Potter stood with their three children, even James had been called to the meeting. Draco Malfoy was present on the other side of the room, one hand on Scorpius and Roland's shoulder. Astoria Malfoy, originally Astoria Greengrass, hid in the corner of the room. Sandwiched between the two families, Ronald and Hermione Weasley held to Hugo and Rose's shoulders.

Standing silently to the side of her unhappy, generic parents, Elle reached out to hold her best friend's hand. It surprised 'Manda that the smaller girl had the guts to do so given the circumstances, but she didn't pull away. Her father hadn't been able to get to the meeting, but she wasn't the only one standing without a parent.

Along with Roland and 'Manda, Cherry was left to face the accusations of the Headmaster alone. They had all rushed to make her sit in a chair, treating her as though she was too fragile to do anything. Forcing her face to stay blank, the blonde stared at the wall as she waited for the yelling to begin.

"I suppose I'll just get on with it. Many of you are family members, though a few are enemies, but I won't pretend as if there will be a differing in treatments between all of you. Throughout this year the children in this room have caused more problems than the rest of the school combined." Percy looked directly at the two Slytherin boys, their weight shifting from foot to foot as they tried to avoid his gaze. "It is most certainly not in my job description to do as such, but I feel as though I must bring some things out into the open.

"Let's begin with the most obvious, Mr. Malfoy and his- Cherry are going to be having a child in the near future." Scorpius flinched, waiting for the surprise to fill his parents that never came. It was as if they didn't care about what happened in his life. Percy, who had been waiting for the shock as well, continued. "Although it isn't the most professional way of putting this, it needs to be brought to attention that this young woman has no family to run to.

"Marnie, her younger sister, lives in a girl's home in London but is merely fifteen. So I suggest the young parents find an arrangement for the time when they will not be at school. Scorpius will be graduating, possibly, and will not be able to reside at Hogwarts anymore."

Turning to look at his father's stony face, Scorpius' stomach dropped. The man before him refused to acknowledge his own son's existence, much less aid him in the raising of a new life. After all, the seventeen year old himself had been raised by the Manor's staff. Tears stung at his eyes as he turned away from his parents, extremely aware of the quick opening and shutting of the door, leaving the area behind him empty.

Lily stared at the tall blonde in shock before crossing the room to stand next to him, slipping her small hand in his. Stepping forward to join his best friend, Roland clasped him on the shoulder. Both the brunette and redhead were thinking the same thing. How selfish could his parents be? To leave him alone at a time like this seemed to be the ultimate betrayal.

Continuing on in his lecture, Percy turned to speak directly at 'Manda. "Now we need to discuss the newest discrepancy. Miss Thompson made quite a spectacle of her recent sexuality realization. Due to the immaturity of a particular sixth year, an extremely large fight broke out in the corridor. Luckily, no one was hurt beyond magic's ability to repair, but it was still uncalled for."

"Now wait just a minute, do you mean to tell me that my daughter has been staying in the same room with a lesbian for the last five years?" The question boomed through the silent room, coming from Elle's father open mouth. "I simply do not find that safe or acceptable."

Pulling her chin into her chin, 'Manda let go of Elle's hand as she listened to the acidic words. Had she known that the choice would provide so much backlash, the announcement never would have been made. But it was too late for that now and she watched in horror as Elle was yanked away from her. As if to add to the tall girl's pain, her best friend stayed completely silent, not admitting to the huge part she had secretly played in the realization.

As the family of three exited the room, the meeting wound down to an unhappy end. Lily and Hugo immediately embraced a quietly sobbing 'Manda, neither asking questions for the sake of their best friend's sanity.

James stepped forward to grasp Scorpius' shoulder, pulling him away from the group to speak to the younger boy. "Don't fret over your situation. Even though you aren't my favorite person in the world, I'm willing to help you. Give me time."

But what could the young adult possibly do to fix the damage that kept growing as the days passed?

* * *

><p>Wiping his arm across his sweaty forehead, Roland jumped down from the fourth rung of the tall ladder. After the intervention, Percy had released what his punishment for instigating the fight would be. Scorpius had luckily been allowed the same punishment, so they worked side by side as they cleaned the shelves of trophies. Filch had left them in the room alone, giving them the privacy to speak freely in order to pass the time.<p>

Their conversation had gone silent an hour prior however, leaving the tall room in eerie silence. Roland listened as soft humming escaped his best friend's lips, happy for the distraction from the constant circular motion of his hands. Although it wasn't the hardest punishment to complete, the dullness made it the most boring.

A sudden rasp of knuckles on the doorjamb made both boys turn, leaving them both shocked as Lily stepped from the hallway into the well-lit room. Before either of them could say anything, a soft smile played across her lips and she leaned against the wall. "Well this looks exciting. Maybe they figured they could kill you with boredom rather than a curse. It seems to be less humane though."

Scorpius dropped to the floor beside Roland, his eyes grazing the redhead's body as she tried to admit cool indifference. Attempting to do the same, he crossed the room slowly and pinned her to the wall with one of his hands against the wall next to her head. Taking this as his cue to leave, Roland threw his polishing cloth behind his head as he escaped out into the dark hallway.

Letting a cocky smirk slide into place, Scorpius ran his free hand through his shaggy locks. "Does that mean that you've come to entertain me?" Her face falling at the blatant sexual taunt, Lily shifted her gaze to the floor. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea of being so close to Scorpius, but the fact that she hadn't pushed him away yet was a definite improvement. As if he could sense the words residing on the tip of her tongue, the tall blonde tipped her chin up to force his gaze to connect with hers. "You can tell me anything, Lily. I won't even say anything back if you don't want me to."

"I have a feeling that I'll regret it, but I can't force myself to hold things inside anymore. Nothing will change, I'm sure, but-" Inhaling deeply, Lily let herself relax as his hand slid down the wall to grasp hers. "This is so wrong, you know. Cherry's about to have your baby and you've burned me too many times for me to trust you completely. But I'd be lying if I told you that losing you doesn't kill me. I still love you, maybe even more now, though that doesn't make much sense. Anyone in their right mind would think that I'm crazy but-"

Pressing his lips against hers, Scorpius pulled the redhead against him as he poured as much passion into the kiss as he could muster. There was only a slight hesitation on Lily's part, but then the kiss was deepened considerably. When they finally pulled away, an ecstatic grin was plastered to the blonde's face. "You really shouldn't talk so much. Actions speak louder than words."

Suddenly, Lily couldn't find any words worthy of speaking. Feelings of safety surrounded her as she let her head fall against his chest, but the lingering guilt flowed through her like a virus. It wasn't right to put her happiness before a child's.

"Eventually, you need to make yourself happy. Even if that means putting yourself first once in a while." Scorpius whispered into her hair as they stood together, pressed up against the wall of the trophy room. And, as always, she knew he was right.

* * *

><p>"Absolutely not." Harry crossed his arms across his chest, continuing his stare-down with his eldest son. James had proposed the idea that everyone, including Scorpius, Roland, and Cherry, should visit his winter cottage for Christmas break. The idea wasn't going over well with his father, who didn't trust the Slytherins any farther than he could throw them. "Not only have all the teenagers proved to be untrustworthy, but we already have one pregnant girl on our hands. We don't need another."<p>

Scoffing as she flopped down next to her mother on the stone bench where the parents had been gathered, Lily leaned forward with her elbows rested on her knees. "After everything that's happened, no one wants to even have sex because of what might happen. Besides, who's going to get pregnant? 'Manda's a lesbian, Elle is with James so that would be rape, I'm definitely not dating anyone, and Cherry is already pregnant. Unless you're worried about Hugo-"

Flinging out to smack his cousin on the shoulder, the thin boy leaned against the wall to help argue the decision. "I think it's a good idea. None of them have parents and, like it or not, we're all tied to each other. By what James has been saying, there will be plenty of room for us all to visit. And the house will be crawling with mood-crushing parents, so no sex for any of us."

Ron physically twitched at the prospect, immediately reaching out to grab his wife's hand. Seeing this, Harry's need to argue intensified. "Was it not weeks ago that you wanted nothing to do with Scorpius? Why the sudden change of heart, Lily? And if you are even considering forgiving that boy, so help me god-"

"Oh hush, Harry." Ginny cried exasperatedly, turning to speak directly to her eldest son. "Although I find it very mature and sweet of you to want to help these people, James, it doesn't seem like the best idea. We're such a large, dramatic family anyway, we really shouldn't add to it."

Setting his jaw in determination, James stood his ground. "These are mere children. They may not be ready to have this child, but it would be wrong to leave them to struggle alone. Now you can either support me on this, or I will help them myself. As the due date grows closer, Cherry and their daughter will need things. I'm not asking for you to help with the financial aspect, I'm more than capable of that, but you're the best parents I know. Wouldn't you want someone to help if one of us were left alone?"

A shocked silence filled the group, but eventually a loud sigh left Harry's lips. "Fine, but there will be rules. A lot of rules."

Lily turned to see the three Slytherins enter the hallway, a smile spreading across her face as her eyes connected with Scorpius'. Things were turning up. Finally.

* * *

><p>Cottage seemed to be a cruel joke when James had described the home he had bought with his first pay check. The home stood four stories high, spreading out across a field of white powder so far that one had to turn their head in order to see the length of it. Inside the warmth of the home was just as glorious, well-designed and large enough to house double the amount of people that stood in the front corridor.<p>

"My goodness, James. What could you possibly need all this room for?" Ginny forced a scowl onto her face, even though she was secretly envious of the large kitchen that she now stood in.

As the group of teenagers and parents dispersed to claim the bedrooms in the upper floors, Elle reached out to drag 'Manda out the back door before her parents could separate them yet again. Pulling her chocolate brown pea-coat closer to her body, the blonde let her eyes rise to meet 'Manda's. "I'm sorry about my father. Actually, I'm sorry that I didn't stick up for you when I should have. But you know that I couldn't exactly tell the truth."

Here it was, the moment that 'Manda had been waiting for. The taboo conversation was about to take place and her stomach was doing back flips in anticipation. "I'm not mad, Elle. Just- Do you really think what we did was wrong? Because I don't regret it at all, even if you do."

"Of course not." Elle spoke quickly, reaching forward to grab her best friend's hands. "But I'm happy with James and I don't want to risk ruining anything with him."

Shaking her black hair in front of her face to hide her disappointment, 'Manda sighed. "That's all I needed to know. I'll leave you alone about it."

Just as the door was inches from closing behind her, 'Manda heard whispered words flowing from Elle's lips. "If things were different, we'd be together. But I love you too much to hurt you with lies." With a final thud, the girls were separated from each other yet again.

"You already have."

* * *

><p>"Take a seat, <em>brother<em>." James said as he settled into a large armchair in his study, his father and Scorpius following his lead. "Not to ruin the holiday mood, but we have some unfinished business. I thought we were clear what would happen if you hurt Lily, though I'm starting to doubt your intelligence. See, if I had been in your position, I would have watched my step."

Bracing his legs to spring out of danger at any moment, Scorpius shook his head vigorously. "Obviously, it was a stupid decision. But I really don't think it justifies violence. My face is already in bad condition, no need to damage it any more."

Harry chuckled softly, relaxing in his seat. "Behave, James. Listen, son, I don't have any particular need to punish you more than you already have been. You have a good heart, whether you follow it enough or not, but it is possible to rise above your programming and prove us all wrong. Unfortunately, James has a growing urge to hit you that I don't plan on arguing with."

Smiling insanely at the blonde, James cracked his knuckles. "Let me get one good blow to that pretty face of yours and it'll all be over. Then everyone can enjoy the rest of the break like nothing happened. Sound like a plan?"

To both James and Harry's surprise, Scorpius nodded and rose to his feet. "Get it over with. But I will tell you that I haven't given up on Lily, and she's definitely not over me. Punch me as many times as you need in order to justify that."

"You bet I will." Rising to his feet, the brunette grabbed a hold of the Slytherin's T-shirt. But as the two men stood looking at each other, the sudden urge to punch something receded, leaving James trembling in frustration. Shoving Scorpius away, he glared down at the boy sprawled across the floor. "Congratulations, Malfoy. You're officially a man."

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><p>Leaning back in his seat at the table, Scorpius caught eyes with the gorgeous redhead sitting across from him and grinned. They hadn't had been able to speak in private since arriving in the cottage a week prior, only able to share secrete glances in passing. It was now Christmas Eve and, due to the amount of teenagers without parents in the house, it had been decided that gifts weren't necessary on the actual holiday.<p>

Clearing his throat as the feast came to a close, James stood at the head of the table. "I'm really pleased that we were able to have such a good week so far. Thank you, everyone, for being so civil under these circumstances. Now, I have a special surprise that I've been waiting for all evening."

Elle, who had been refusing to look up from her plate of mush, didn't realize what was going on until James was pulling her to her feet. As she stood in front of her long distance boyfriend, the world seemed to slow to a stop as he sunk down to one knee. Silence filled the blonde's head as she watched his mouth moving, not registering what was happening right in front of her.

Suddenly, noise rushed into into her ears as James finished his speech. "-and that's why I've been dying to ask you. Will you marry me, Elle?"

The room falling silent in anticipation, Elle could hear her heart pounding at a million miles a second. And then, as if her body was taking control, the blonde's eyes fell on the tall girl sitting towards the end of the table. As if she was looking into a mirror, Elle's terror was visible in 'Manda's eyes.

"Babe? I asked you to marry me. Please- Answer me." James' voice cracked in the tension of the silence, but nothing escaped the girl's lips. _Yes. _The words were present in her mind yet refused to travel far enough for her to speak them.

Silence. Maybe that served as a decision in and of itself.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading this chapter! I had fun with the drama. :) Let me know what you thought or if I need to fix some things. Review! <strong>


	9. Chapter Nine: Can't Take It

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I posted on this story but I had a bit of discouragement then writer's block... But I'm back now so I hope you like it. Leave reviews, please!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Nine: Can't Take It (All-American Rejects)<span>_

Silence weighed uncomfortably on James as he waited for words to escape Elle's frosty pink lips, but eventually he realized they would never come. Never in his entire life had he felt like such a failure, or a complete and utter fool. The eyes that had once dazzled him into loving her now only showed pity towards him, adding to the humiliation that coursed through him.

Rising to stand on shaky legs, the dark haired man rubbed at the stubble on his chin uncomfortably as he forced his eyes to stay trained on the young girl's. Finally breaking the silence, James closed the velvet box he held in the palm of his hand. "I understand. Merry Christmas, everyone."

"James, I…" Elle jumped to her feet, regaining her ability to speak, but her outstretched arm only met air as the man turned and exited the room swiftly. Moving quickly to follow him, the blonde felt thick tears of regret roll down her red cheeks.

Before she could successfully reach the door however, 'Manda was there, pulling her blonde head to her shoulder. Murmuring words of reassurance into her best friend's hair, the taller girl ignored the unhappy looks on Elle's parent's faces, only concerned with the well-being of the girl who had been there for her so many times before.

Another set of hands ran up and down Elle's back for a moment before she heard Lily's voice excusing herself from the room to find her brother. Somehow, that only added to the embarrassment and pain the thin girl felt about the entire situation.

Suddenly, Roland and Hugo were pulling the two girls from the dining room and away from the sudden explosion of adult voices. Then Elle was laying on the bed she had claimed in James' home, her thin body being held to 'Manda's tightly. Whispering brokenly through sobs, her fingers gripped the taller girl's arms in desperation for understanding. "I'm so sorry, 'Manda. If I had just admitted to myself that I'm-"

"Shhh, babe. It's alright. Go to sleep for now, we'll deal with this when you wake up." Catching Hugo's questioning eyes, 'Manda shook her head as if to tell him that she would explain everything later. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Never before had she said anything so truthful.

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><p>Knocking softly on the closed door leading to James' office, Elle pushed into the room without waiting for the approval that she knew would never come. The lights were dimmed down considerably, leaving an eerie glow about the room, and she had to feel her way in order to cross the room to where he was. Ignoring her arrival as best as he could, James sat in his black desk chair, facing the darkness that the large window displayed before him.<p>

Elle hoisted herself onto the edge of his desk, her heavily accessorized fingers running through her fair colored hair. When she had woken up from the nightmare-filled nap that had been forced upon her, 'Manda was laying with her like she had promised. After staying wrapped up in the tall girl's arms for as long as her ADD would allow her, Elle realized that it was time to come clean to James, for he deserved at least that much respect.

As if he could sense her struggling for the words to begin the conversation, James turned his chair to face her with a flat look. "There really isn't anything to be said, Elle. I understand that your hesitation is something that I should have seen coming, but I stupidly didn't. We only dated for a few months, so I had no right trying to ask you for something so ridiculous."

"It would be great to blame this whole thing on you, but we both know I can't. This is more my fault than anyone's and I definitely didn't come to make you feel even worse. I just- needed to retain what little pride I do have left by telling you the truth about me." Breathing in deeply, Elle's voice shakily betrayed her anxiety. "About a year ago, when Lily and Hugo both started to stray away from being friends with us, 'Manda and I began to seek comfort with each other.

"At first it started out with a few lingering hugs now and then, sometimes there was an occasional peck of each other's cheek. But we started to feel more and more abandoned, we all know how attention seeking I am, and it just kind of happened. I really didn't want to think of myself as a lesbian, but I guess the things we've done will only label me as such."

Pausing to take several more shaky breaths, the blonde blinked tears away before they could flow down her already stained cheeks. "Then you came along and I realized that you were my way out. Don't get me wrong, I had always liked you when we were younger, but now I think it was because I wanted an older brother to love me the way you love Lily. Not to mention the fact that 'Manda had mentioned that she wouldn't mind being with me publicly, and that wasn't something my parents would be okay with. You saw how well it blew over when she outed herself to the entire school."

This time when she stopped talking, the words refused to flow again, leaving James to continue the conversation himself. Many things to say filled his brain, words that would either sting or comfort the younger girl, but none of them seemed appropriate for the situation. So he simply laughed dryly, "I should have figured as much. We had yet to have a couple of lesbians in our fucked up group."

Smiling sheepishly at the comment, Elle reached out for James to hold her hand. "Please don't put on a fake act just to make me feel better. I deserve to be treated like shit, since that's all that I've been dishing out lately."

The dark haired man shook his head vigorously, "Absolutely not. You're just a child, Elle. I should have realized that months ago. Can you do me a favor though?" He barely waited for her to nod before presenting his demand. "Be there for 'Manda like she has been for you. If I can't make you happy, then let her do it. You deserve that much."

Agreeing quietly before squeezing his hand one last time, Elle slipped from the dark room and returned to her now-empty room. It broke her heart even more to know that her last promise to him would be broken, seeing as she didn't deserve the love that 'Manda would surely offer to her. Within minutes her room would be packed and she would be walking out of the "cottage" on Christmas Eve, away from the friends that proved to be too good for her.

Maybe it was a drastic decision to make on the same night that she had been proposed to and then had realized her love for her best friend, but Elle didn't think that she could look any of the lovely people around her in the eye. Shame filled her as the blonde forced herself to dwell on the pain of her decision, wanting to punish herself as much as possible.

"Are you ready to go, dear?" Elle's father spoke quietly as she reached the backdoor of the home, his body bundled in thick clothing.

Nodding silently, she followed him out into the harsh cold of the winter. Refusing to look back at the mistake she was making.

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><p>Christmas Break passed without much more excitement, though 'Manda had spiraled into a deep state of depression. Even Hugo and Lily's light banter about the upcoming semester couldn't break the tall girl from her spell. Something about Elle's complete disregard for her friends' feelings had 'Manda worried that the rest of the school year would follow the same trend.<p>

Her theory proved to be right as she climbed off the Hogwarts Express, the platform void of all signs of Elle. Stepping up beside the unhappy girl, Scorpius squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. "Sometimes you have to wait for the girl of your dreams to realize that you'd do anything to be there for her. Even if you don't think you deserve her, she'll eventually disagree."

Meeting his kind, blue eyes fully, 'Manda gave him a half smile before following the crowd towards the looming castle. It wasn't much of a shock to find the dorm room Lily, Elle, and 'Manda shared was empty, but the sting of abandonment still hurt the brunette.

"She has to be down in the Great Hall, even Elle can't resist food." Lily offered quietly, not wanting to disturb whatever banter was going on in her best friend's head.

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><p>Leg bouncing uncontrollably with anticipation, Elle couldn't keep her eyes from staring at the door leading out of the Great Hall. She wasn't sure what would be worse, 'Manda ignoring her or actually reaching out only to be pushed away. The decision was quickly made when the brunette entered the crowded room, their eyes meeting in an intense moment of weakness.<p>

Someone crossed the path their gaze was blazing, breaking the connection enough for the blonde to turn away from 'Manda. It would be hard, not talking to the very person she was dying to bawl her heart out to, but she was willing to sacrifice her sanity if it meant saving face.

But was love really worth giving up simply to keep her parents happy?

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><p>Pushing open the door to her dorm room, Elle flicked on the lights with a sigh. Ignoring her friends proved to be more difficult that she had once assumed, but she had done so successfully so far. Her luck had seemed to come to a quick end though, because Lily bounded from her position in the dark room to slam the door shut, blocking the blonde from slipping from the room yet again.<p>

"Oh no you don't. We're going to talk whether you like it or not." Flicking her wrist to lock the door, Lily pushed her best friend deeper into the room and onto her bed. "It's been a month since we've gotten back and you're still pushing us away. That would be okay if it was just me or Hugo, but 'Manda deserves better than that."

Sighing softly, Elle ran her thin hands over her face with impatience. "I have things to do, Lily. Can't this wait until- oh I don't know, never." Obviously the redhead wasn't going to go for that idea, for when she tried to get to her feet, Lily pulled her back to the covers. "Now is good too, I guess."

Not able to gather her thoughts right away, Lily rose to her feet and paced at the end of her friend's bed. She hadn't expected for the blonde to give up so easily, which of course kept her from being prepared when the time came for her to chastise Elle's behavior. As she was trying to think of a way to open up the conversation, the redhead looked down to see tears streaming down the other girl's cheeks.

Dropping to her knees beside the crying girl, she couldn't help but feel for the hard position her friend was in. Was Elle's opposition to accepting the love she felt for 'Manda any different than Lily's hesitation to date Scorpius again? Granted, there was a baby involved in the latter, but homophobia would cause just as many, if not more, issues in the girl-girl relationship. If only those people who were again gays understood the pain that their hatred put regular people in, maybe they would think twice about their judgments.

"Please, don't cry. I know you don't think that I understand why you're hesitating, but I really do. You can always talk to me." Lily gripped the smaller girl's hands tightly, staring straight into her watery eyes in the hopes that she would realize how sincere her comments were. "Or Hugo, if that would make you more comfortable. That dork knows a lot more about- this kind of stuff than I do."

Scoffing and rolling her eyes at the redhead's choice of words, Elle pushed herself away from the intensity of her blue-eyed stare. "Why don't you just say it? I'm officially a lesbian now. Only I have it worse, because I don't even have the relationship most would get out of it."

Now it was Lily's turn to be pissed off at the conversation, "That's no one's fault but yours. 'Manda tried to make it work and you pushed her away. I hate to be so blunt when you're obviously in pain, but Jesus Christ. Why don't you grow up and be with the girl who loves you more than life itself? Anyone who doesn't like it can shove your happiness up their own ass."

But Lily wasn't the only one that was observant enough to watch the always changing relationships in their little group. A sickly satisfied, defiant smile flashed across Elle's face as she moved to put her face directly in front of the taller girl's. "Like you are with Scorpius? Everyone already knows that you're back together, but you refuse to realize it. Worry about your own problems before you force yourself into mine." Lily started to argue, but was cut off by the blonde crossing to the doorway. "I'll tell you what. The day you announce that you're back with Scorpius despite his numerous screw ups, I'll walk straight up to 'Manda and kiss her. But we both know that won't happen anytime soon."

Only the slamming of the door woke Lily from her stunned state. Since when had someone needed an ultimatum to be with the person they loved? But even with her anger at Elle's stupidity coursing through her like poison, the redhead had to acknowledge that her friend had been right. It would be a cold day in hell when she let herself confess her love for Scorpius again.

If only she could see that it wouldn't be that long a wait for herself or Elle.

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><p>As Lily slipped through the dark corridors silently, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Sneaking behind the backs of everyone she loved to see Scorpius wasn't something that she was proud of, but it was the only option she could force herself to consider. That conversation that she had had with Elle weeks ago had only added to the shame of her choices. Not that the other girl had any room to judge Lily's choices, for she still had yet to talk to 'Manda again.<p>

Hugo had come to Lily multiple times, worried about 'Manda's spiral into depression as the months dragged on. But even that wasn't enough things for the redhead to worry over, because she still had to deal with the fact that Cherry's due date was steadily approaching. No matter how hard Scorpius tried to distract her from it, the truth of their situation weighed on her heavily.

A large, warm hand latched onto the girl's fragile wrist, pulling her into an abandoned classroom she had been prepared to walk past. Lily found herself pressed against Scorpius' chest tightly, her quickening heartbeat thudding between them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'll get over it." Reaching up to tangle her fingers in his scruffy, blonde locks, Lily pressed her lips to his firmly. He pulled her further into the room, knocking into desks that seemed to jump in front of him in the darkness. As his lips parted to find her tongue with his own, Scorpius lifted her into his arms and trapped her between his muscular body and the firm wall.

The silence in the room was broken by Lily's soft panting as the blonde moved his lips from hers to trail them down her smooth neck. Wicked thoughts of temptation ran through his one-track mind, but at the moment he only wanted to relish in the physical contact they shared. Returning to her lips, Scorpius kissed her until his air supply had run dry. "We need to slow down, Lil."

Shaking her head in defiance, the redhead ran her soft hands under his shirt to feel the defined lines of his abs. "You didn't make Cherry slow down." She caught his bottom lip with her teeth, never wanting the excitement she felt to end.

Yanking his head back quickly, Scorpius strained to stare at the younger girl's face in the dark. "And look how well that went over. She's pregnant and we're both stuck with something that we aren't ready for. I'll be damned if the same happens to you. This was a mistake." He sat Lily on the ground softly and stepped away from her, blood welling up on the cut she had inflicted on his lip.

"Don't do that. I'm sorry, I just- moment of insanity. Please, don't shut me out." Lily was mentally slapping herself at the turn in the conversation, or rather, letting a conversation starting in the first place. Even if Scorpius was right about not letting things go too far, she didn't want to be considered the irresponsible one of the two.

Luckily, he didn't seem to judge her as such, pulling her into a tight hug. "Eventually it will happen, Lil, but not now. I can't hurt you like I hurt her."

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><p>Leaning over Cherry's shoulder to maneuver the mouse of her laptop, Scorpius let his other hand fall to rub her bulging stomach absentmindedly. Her due date was only weeks away and her small frame looked almost humorous since the baby had grown to such a large proportion. She watched his glowing face with sadness, knowing her betrayal would hurt him more than she cared to think about. Catching her gaze, he smiled brightly before turning to the dark haired man on the computer screen.<p>

"Good to see you, James. How have you been doing?" Scorpius' kind smile transferred to the older man, sincerely happy to be talking to the kind soul that was going to help take care of his quickly growing family. In the beginning, it had been hard for the blonde to accept help with his 'mistakes', especially when the donator was his ex-girlfriend's older brother.

Even James had been surprised with his own generosity, but the overwhelming need to help the young teenagers weighed heavily on him. Although the proposition of helping an enemy would have caused him to go into hysterics two years ago, part of growing up was realizing the importance of forgiveness.

If only he could be man enough to apply that lesson to the girl that broke his heart. The entire situation of the James/Elle/'Manda love triangle was dizzying to think about, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. "I'm living, which I'm happy to see that the same is true for all three of you. When's the next doctor's visit?"

Since he had taken it upon himself to be the guardian of the teenagers that were about to become parents themselves, James wanted to be aware of every breath they took that involved the baby. This didn't seem to bother them in the slightest; it was nice to be cared for once in a while. "Cherry goes next week, and if all goes well, they won't be seeing her again until the birth."

Nodding happily, the brunette's eyes glinted with excitement at an idea he had been mulling over for weeks. "I was thinking, that we could really use some help around the Joke Shop. George wants to open a few other stores in neighboring cities and it would be great to have someone hold down the base. Since you will be graduating in a week, I thought it might be helpful for you to have a job lined up. What do you think?"

"That'll be great for us! I should be able to get a flat for the three of us rather quickly, and then it will all go up from there. I really appreciate everything you're doing for us, James. You really don't have to." Scorpius couldn't control his excitement at the proposition, wanting nothing more than to find Lily and tell her about their new plans. If he got his way, they would create a way to be together even with Cherry raising the baby as her own. It would all be complicated and confusing for a while, but they would get used to it.

Only Cherry obviously wasn't on the same page as the father of her child. "Both of you will be really happy with that, I'm sure."

Not catching the strange word choice, Scorpius went on to talk out the technicalities of the plan with James, leaving Cherry to scold herself for almost slipping up about leaving them. Suddenly, the men's conversation was over and Scorpius turned to kiss her cheek before slipping from the room, obviously to talk to Lily.

And for once, it didn't bother Cherry that he was leaving her alone with her thoughts. She needed to spend as much time as a mother as she could before she ruined all chances of having a family with the man of her dreams. Starting over would be the only thing to look forward to. End of story.

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><p>"You need to get up there, babe. They aren't going to wait for you." Hugo leaned forward to press his forehead to the older boy's, still thanking God that Roland had been allowed to graduate on time. Although it would have been great to have another year at school with his boyfriend, the redhead hadn't wanted the humiliation of failure to taint their time together.<p>

Grinning happily in excitement, Roland kissed Hugo's cheek before jumping to his feet. When he was about ten feet away from where the Potter/Weasley clan was sitting, the tall man turned to yell across the crowd of wizards. "I managed to rent an apartment in London, by the way. Hope that you're cool with that."

Ron and Hermione stared at their son in shock, who in turn was following his boyfriend through the mob of people with his wide eyes. That wasn't something they had discussed yet, so it was just like Roland to bring it up on the spot, but Hugo was too excited to care. Even when his father's stern voice barked at him, a large smile stayed plastered to his face.

Bounding up to stand beside Scorpius, Roland gripped the taller boy's shoulders in reassurance. "Ready for this? After today, things change drastically." Cutting the blonde's response short, he nudged his shoulder and motioned for him to look at the front row of the audience. "Dude, your parents are here."

Sure enough, Draco and Astoria Malfoy were sitting uncomfortably in the plastic seats of the audience. Meeting his son's eyes, the older man nodded his head in recognition. Scorpius fought the urge to be angry at their sudden appearance. He knew that the correct reaction would be happiness, but for them to show up at the end of the year seemed shady and attention-seeking. Nodding back, the younger blonde turned to face the side of the stage and tried to calm the anger that was building inside of him.

"Welcome, everyone. Today I am pleased to send off another fabulous group of young witches and wizards into the world." Percy Weasley's speech continued on for quite some time before the students' names began to be called.

Due to Malfoy being listed before Stone, Scorpius was sent across the stage first. A mixture of clapping and booing filled the open air of the school grounds, no one really sure how to cheer for a boy that had once been an enemy but was now laying pretty low. Sensing the tension in the air, Lily and Hugo rose to their feet at once and hollered loudly.

This was all the group needed, for everyone began clapping proudly. Coming to stand directly beside a slowly clapping 'Manda, Elle cheered alongside her friends. Once Scorpius was off the stage, their clapping died down until it was Roland's turn.

Turning to stare in wonder at the smaller girl's face, 'Manda waited until the blonde would look at her. "I missed you. You have no idea how much." Elle reached out to take the taller girl's hand proudly, a small smile slipping over her glossy lips.

After many months of reflecting on her true feelings, it had become obvious that the only way life could be fulfilling is if Elle let herself be happy. 'Manda wasn't sure what had changed the other girl's mind, but she didn't care as long as she didn't go back on the decision.

"I'm proud of you, Elle. You're doing the right thing." Hugo spoke directly into her ear as he walked towards the quickly emptying stage, looking for his Prince Charming. As the redhead grew nearer, he was surprised to see Roland arguing heatedly with Scorpius. But when he finally reached the bickering men, Scorpius stalked off in the direction that Hugo had just come from. "What's he doing?"

An answer wasn't necessary however, for everyone was looking toward the blonde when he came to a stop in front of Lily Potter. Reaching out to hook his arm around her thin waist, Scorpius pulled the redhead into the most passionate kiss he could muster. Only hesitating for a moment, the young girl let her eyes close to block out the amazed faces of the people surrounding them. Cherry, who stood nearby, winced at the sight and looked away quickly.

Pulling away from his now-not-so-secret girlfriend, the blonde faced Harry Potter confidentially. "I told you that I wouldn't give up. But it would be a lie to say that I didn't think about it. My daughter deserves someone as great as Lily as a role model. Even if you aren't okay with the decisions we make, don't shun us for trying."

"Harry never was one to see himself as above anyone. I'm sure that hasn't changed in the past twenty years." Draco's cool voice cut through Scorpius' happiness like a knife, sending goose bumps up his arms. "What do you say, Potter? If you'll accept their relationship, I'm sure that I can follow suit."

Letting his eyes flicker between his daughter and the man she seemed to love, Harry nodded slowly. "I suppose that's fair." He reached out to shake Draco's hand warmly, mentally promising to deal with the strangeness of the day later on. "Oh, it seems that you aren't the only ones getting a happy ending today."

'Manda had her arms wrapped around Elle's thin waist, their foreheads pressed together and their breathing haggard. Even the whispered comments of hate couldn't break the connection that had built between them in the last ten minutes.

"Finally, we have lesbians in our group!" Hugo exclaimed proudly as Roland wrapped his arms around his waist. "Now everyone is happy!"

Except for the silently crying pregnant girl, but it wasn't as if she counted. Right?

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><p><strong>Finally done with this chapter! Hope you liked it! I'm sorry that it took so long for it to be up.. Love you, guys. Please review. (:<strong>


	10. Chapter Ten: I Hope You Dance

**Hey guys! It's been so long since I updated this story, but I'm writing it now! Sorry I've been slacking on updating every other week.. I feel bad about it. Anyway, I love you! Leave me reviews if you like it, I love to read them! **

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><p><em><span>Chapter Ten: I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack<span>_

Bright rays of sunlight filtered in through the lavender curtains of Lily's room, waking her up as they infiltrated her eyelids. It was finally summer, which meant she had complete freedom and the ability to sleep in as late as she wanted. No one in her family was quite used to the absence of the oldest Potter child, but Hugo had quickly made himself at home in the brunette's room during the many nights he stayed with his cousins.

The previous night, Hugo, Lily and their two boyfriends had joined the Potter family for a late night barbecue party. Between Roland and Scorpius, there had been a plentiful feast of assorted, grilled meat. Later on in the evening, Elle and 'Manda had even shown up to join in a midnight swim in the quiet lake bordering Harry and Ginny's property.

Only the thought of a sulking Cherri, hiding herself away in James' large estate, threatened to spoil the cloud of happiness surrounding the group of teenagers. Lily had tried for days to stretch their group enough to fit the pregnant girl, but the blonde would have none of it. Her hatred for the redhead seemed to grow by the day, adding to the difficulty of her decision to leave her baby in the hands of the self-absorbed witch.

Somehow, Lily was well aware of the girl's hatred towards her, she just couldn't find it in her to care. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but she had the happiness she had always yearned for and no one was going to take that away from her.

A quiet crinkle of paper jolted the redhead to reality, causing her to turn towards the sound frantically. To her surprise, Scorpius sat in an arm chair beside her bed, his long leg crossed over his left thigh and a thick novel in his hand, a pose of absolute ease. Smirking at her shocked face, the muscular blonde leaned forward to kiss her cheek softly. "Good afternoon, sleepyhead. I didn't know that our make out sessions took so much out of you. It's two o'clock after all."

"What?" Jerking her head to look at the digital clock on her bedside table, Lily saw that he hadn't been lying. "Damn. How long have you been sitting there?"

Ignoring her question, Scorpius climbed onto the bed beside her and wound his long arms around her waist. As he pushed his soft lips to hers, every thought in Lily's brain disappeared, leaving it spinning when he pulled away. How long would her body have the tingling, mind-numbing reaction to his touch? Did she even want it to go away? After a few more minutes of kissing, the answer was clear. Hell no.

His finger looped itself around a soft, rusty curl at the front of her face. "Cherry and I are going to look at flats in London today. I was wondering if you want to join us, since you'll hopefully be spending a lot of time there with me."

That was definitely unexpected, and only managed to darken the great mood she had woke up in. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of the fact that she would have to share her boyfriend with not only his daughter, but also the actual mother. She didn't have to like it though. "I'd love to. Get out so I can get dressed."

Suddenly, as if he was beckoned as the dressing fairy, Hugo materialized in the doorway. "Yes, Scorpius. I need to get to work to make that sleepy mess a fabulous part of my family." That was a tad too gay, even for Hugo, so he quickly backtracked and dropped his voice an octave. "I mean- Nope, can't think of anything to come back from that."

Grinning at the boy's attempt, Scorpius kissed Lily lightly before disappearing from the room. Hugo wasn't going to waste any time obviously, for he pulled the thin redhead out of her comfortable bed and steered her towards the closet. "I don't really need to be dressed by you, Hug-go. I've been doing it myself for almost a whole year now."

"Hush, you. This is purely for my entertainment and sentimental value. Now shut up so I can think." He snapped before charging the closet.

Thirty minutes later, Lily stood in the center of her bedroom, being admired by both her cousin and boyfriend. An emerald green corset-like tank-top donned her upper body; followed by rather short, black shorts that accentuate her long legs, and simple, black heels held her in the air. Hugo had been kind enough to only subject her hair to an extremely high, curled ponytail with her rusty bangs left down. Her face was covered with a light layer of makeup that didn't interfere with her natural beauty in the slightest, but a thick rim of black around her eyes caused the brilliant blue color to pop.

Whistling loudly, Scorpius held out his arm to the redhead. "Well, beautiful, we best be going. A lovely job on your part, Hugo. Thank you so very much."

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><p>"I don't see why you can't just walk in through the front door," Elle hissed over the balcony of her room to 'Manda, who was quickly scaling the wall to reach the second floor. "My parents can kiss my ass repeatedly for all I care."<p>

Finally reaching the security of the balcony railing, the taller girl leaned forward and pressed her lips against the blonde's. She silently thanked the Lord repeatedly that she had been intelligent enough to leave her house wearing thick jeans rather than the skirt Hugo had tried to talk her into wearing over the phone. As if sneaking around to be with her girlfriend wasn't hard enough, adding in girly clothing would only make the situation worse.

Having two completely different attitudes about how to deal with Elle's judgmental parents, the couple had been arguing for days about the ways they would get to see each other. 'Manda had gone out of her way to not be caught by the blonde's father in particular, parking her old station wagon two blocks away from the girl's home and sneaking through yards to reach the object of her desire. But it was like Elle was almost angry at the taller girl's efforts to keep them together.

'Manda slipped into her girlfriend's extremely familiar bedroom, immediately locking the door before relaxing even one muscle. Without speaking, she motioned for Elle to join her on the bed. Exactly a week prior to this particular visit, the pair had finally given in to their ultimate desires, taking as much of the other's virginity as was possible by a girl. Each night after started out sweet, but soon took a sexually charged turn.

But when the brunette pulled Elle into her warm embrace, it wasn't sex that she yearned for. Sometimes, the most intimate of moments can consist of just being close to the person you loved. They fell asleep like that, the blonde's silky hair draped across 'Manda's chest in the ultimate picture of peacefulness.

It was the best night of sleep either of them had ever had, and it would hopefully never end. Some things could last forever, right?

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><p>"What do you think about this place, babe?" Scorpius asked as he walked into the bedroom of the shabby apartment that the landlord had allowed them to explore. Turning to speak her mind about the horrifying room, Cherry became aware that his question wasn't even aimed at her. Lily's face contorted to display the emotion that the blonde had been about to display, and she shook her head vigorously.<p>

Squashing the urge to scream in frustration, Cherry waddled out of the room before she threw something at the boy's head. It wasn't Lily that had to live in this hell hole, even though the blonde wouldn't be around for very long herself, yet he was still only concerned with the redhead's opinion. Perhaps leaving wouldn't be quite as hard as she had once feared.

The sleazy man that had led the three teenagers to the third floor apartment appeared in the doorway just as Scorpius and Lily reentered the living room, their hands laced together tightly. Bile rose in Cherry's throat and a horribly uncomfortable liquid slipped down her inner thighs as she leaned against the wall in panic. _Shit, I think I managed to just piss my pants in the middle of someone else's house. Really classy, Cherrise. Well done. _

Realization struck her quickly, however, and she forced herself to breath as slowly as possible. "We don't ask for much for rent, but Big Bertha is pretty cool about falling behind on the money aspect as long as you don't get yourself into any trouble while you're living here." The man continued on about the rules, himself and the couple holding hands completely oblivious to the panicking pregnant girl going into labor a few feet away from them.

When he had finished, Scorpius turned to his fellow blonde, only to scramble across the room to her side. "Cherry, babe, you don't look so good. Do you need to sit down or-"

"Scorpius Malfoy, shut your fucking mouth and get me to a hospital _now_." She cried as she crumpled to her knees. There was still a week and a half before she was due, how could this happen to her now?

* * *

><p>Hugo scrambled through the sterile hallways of the local hospital, yanking Roland behind him in rough jerks. The few crowds of people in present in the building stared at the two boys like they were aliens, quickly crushing themselves against the wall in order to escape being run over. Lily had called Hugo the minute they arrived at the hospital, asking him to pass the message on to Elle and 'Manda that it was time for Cherry to have the baby.<p>

The redhead had sounded more frightened than the screaming girl she was with on the other side of the phone. Roland hadn't hesitated to load everyone up for the hour drive to London, not wanting to miss the chance to be there for his best friend.

A kind looking, young brunette sat behind the otherwise empty desk in the labor wing of the building. She looked up upon Hugo's thundering approach, a small smile playing across her lips as she surveyed the group of teenagers. "You must be with the two blonde's and the redhead. He's waiting for you in the sitting room across the hall if you'd like to join him there."

"Thank you, ma'am." Roland said over his shoulder, already on his way to the room she had indicated. Upon entering, his eyes met the large, terrified blue one's of Scorpius. "Hey, man. Why are you out here?"

Raking his fingers backwards through his hair, the blonde let his shoulders rise and then slump again. "Cherry didn't want me to go in until the baby's been delivered. She didn't mind Lily going in with her though."

Suddenly, a shrill yell rang through the hallways of the hospital. Sighing loudly, Scorpius dropped his head between his hands. It was going to be a very long evening if the baby didn't come soon.

* * *

><p>"Holy motherfucking Christ!" Cherry's face contorted with pain and her body thrust itself off of the hospital bed she lay on. The contractions had been going on like this for almost three hours, making her think that the baby didn't plan to pop out of her anytime soon. <em>Scorpius better be fucking happy that he's a male<em>, she told herself in a snarl. Just as the blonde's body began to relax after the pains had subsided, they started up again in a whole new level of pain.

Standing as far away from the pregnant girl as she could, Lily watched in horror as nurses flitted in and out of the room at hyper speed. When they had arrived in the hospital, she had had every intention to stay in the labor during the labor itself, but that didn't seem to work for Cherry. "You promised that you would help me this," Cherry hissed at the redhead loudly. While that was true, no one had told her that this was part of it.

A young woman that couldn't have been too much older than the two girls touched Lily's arm softly. "It would be really helpful if you would allow her to hold your hand. Sometimes knowing that someone is there helps the mother, if that's something you feel comfortable with."

In fact Lily didn't feel comfortable with it in the slightest, but how horrible would it be to say as much? Crossing the room slowly, she came to stand beside the sterile bed and reached out cautiously to hold the blonde's hand. Not hesitating a moment, Cherry's hand clamped on to hers, dull nails digging into her wrist. How had Lily managed to get herself wrapped up in this again? Oh yeah, she loved her own worst enemy, got it.

The same woman that had suggested the physical contact flittered around next to Cherry's head, eventually just waiting for the contractions to begin again before doing anything else. "Perhaps, if you made conversation, it would be easier to forget about the pain." It sounded like a stupid idea to Lily and she opened her mouth to express this, but was cut off by Cherry's sickly sweet voice.

"I really hate you, Potter. Even though you're stupid enough to date a man that doesn't love you enough to not cheat, it's me that has to-" Sucking in a deep breath to tolerate the pain, she paused for a moment. "Do this. What's so fucking sad is, she won't even be my-" Another ragged breath. "Daughter. You'll end up adopting her or something, then you'll get married to Scorpius and everything will just be peachy for you. Where does that leave me, huh? Fucking nowhere."

Even though Lily wanted to pull away from the blonde, anything to avoid looking into her hostile eyes, the redhead couldn't. It was possible that what she was saying was only due to the pain she was going through, but she doubted it. How could the blonde not hate Lily with every fiber in her body? Yet, the redhead couldn't think of any solution that she could live with. Maybe it was selfish, but it was the truth.

Staying silent, the redhead listened to Cherry cuss at her like a sailor about anything that she could possible find to blame her for until, finally, the doctor appeared in the doorway. "Well, my dear, I think it's time to let your daughter enter the world. How does that sound?"

Turning to Lily, the blonde let tears fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. For everything. Now go, I have to do this by myself?" Lily began to argue, but was shut down by the look on Cherry's face. "They'll let you come back when she's been born. Just… Let me have a few moments as her mom. It's all I'll have for the rest of my life."

It was in that moment that Lily knew what the girl planned to do. She wanted to tell her that abandoning her child would be the biggest mistake she would ever make, but watching the blonde cry uncontrollably told her that it wasn't true. As sad as it was to admit it, getting pregnant in the first place was the only thing that Cherry would ever let herself regret. So turning her back on the crying girl, Lily flew from the room, and then the hallway, not stopping until she was sitting against a wall in one of the darkened hallways of the hospital.

Many accusations and horrible comments pressed against her lips, but then they disappeared. If Lily had been in the same situation, would she have had the courage to abandon her daughter in order for her to have a better life?

_In a heartbeat._

* * *

><p>Scorpius sprinted through the hallway of the hospital, not even waiting for the nurse that had informed him of the birth to catch up. He was too excited to see his daughter, to get to hold her and feel as though she was really his. When he reached the room, he was surprised to see Lily leaning against the wall waiting for him, but the blonde quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room with him. Laying on the hospital bed in front of him, a very worn out Cherry was holding a small lump of cloth and baby.<p>

Hesitating at the foot of the bed, the tan boy began to have second thoughts. What if he somehow messed up his relationship with his daughter the way his father had? Or what if she simply didn't like him? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if his own daughter realized how big of a waste of space he was, and pushed him away because of it. Looking up at Cherry, he watched her avert his gaze and hold out the sleeping newborn.

"You'll be fine. She loves you already and you haven't even done anything. There's no way she won't love you even more when she gets to know you." Lily whispered into his ear before pushing him towards the blonde's outstretched arms.

Thousands of worries flowed through his mind, but they all disappeared as the soft, warm lump was settled into his arms. To say that she was the most beautiful thing in the world would be an understatement. Her soft, flawless skin seemed to radiate warmth and her small head was already partially covered in tufts of fine, pale blonde hair. Breaking into a smile, Scorpius watched as her large, bright blue eyes opened and locked on his ice blue ones. "Haven."

Lily, who stood a few feet away watching the entire scene play out, stepped forward to hear his whisper. "What did you say?"

As the infant's tiny fingers wrapped around the long, tan one that he had presented her with, Scorpius felt tears flow down his glowing cheeks. "Her name is Haven."

"It's perfect." Cherry spoke surprisingly loudly, meeting Lily's all-knowing eyes. "The perfect name, to match the perfect daughter, to match the perfect family."

* * *

><p>A few days after the birth of Haven Marie Malfoy, Scorpius was extremely confident in his abilities to be a great father. His every waking moment had been spent holding the newborn and talking about the apartment that James had found for them only a day prior. Everything was working out perfectly, and it even seemed as though Cherry and Lily were getting along which was more than he could have hoped for.<p>

The first time the nurse had taken Haven out of Scorpius' arms so he could do the required paperwork, he had lived with irrational fears of losing the beautiful child before he had a chance to have her. But Roland, who had quickly been named the godfather, had taken care of his best friend as much as possible.

Now, Scorpius, Lily, and Roland stood in the hallway where the newborn babies were kept, watching the doctors running their final tests on the tiny blonde. "Are you excited to take her home?" The brunette asked happily, enjoying the happy time in their lives. He could only hope that nothing would ever tear their group apart, and now that included Haven and Cherry.

Just as the tall blonde opened his mouth to reply, Hugo came barreling around the corner and ran towards them at full speed. "Cherry's gone. Haven's here, but she's gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Holy crap, I am so behind on posting. I'm so sorry. :'''''( Please don't be angry with me. I'm really trying. Ugh. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Review if you did. Love you guys!<strong>


	11. Chapter Eleven: Drops of Jupiter

**Hello, everyone! I know I haven't been posting as much, but I outlined the next few chapters last night and I figured out that with as long as my chapters are, there will only be around five more before the end of this fanfiction. (: I'm pretty excited about a big twist that I'm adding, but I'll get to that towards the end. Anyway, if you enjoy it, please review for this chapter! Oh, and if you're younger or opposed to sexual messages (especially involving gay relationships) this may not be the chapter for you, but nothing goes above Teen rating I hope. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter Eleven: Drops of Jupiter (Train)<span>_

Taking off across the hospital, Scorpius ignored the calls from his friends and the evil looks that the nurses shot at him. This wasn't supposed to happen to him, not when everything had just evened out and life was looking up. Denial flowed through him in waves, but it immediately disappeared when he came to the door leading to Cherry's empty hospital bed.

"Damn it, Cherry. How am I going to do this alone?" Sinking down against the wall of the room, the tall blonde let his head drop into his hands. He knew better than to think that he would be alone in raising Haven, but that didn't help the fact that now his daughter would be without her biological mother.

It was in that moment that he promised himself to not keep the secret of Cherry from Haven, even if Lily took on the role of her mother as he hoped would happen. Scorpius' friends hadn't followed him when he ran off, which he took as a blessing when he stood to leave and seek them out again. Just as he turned towards the open door, a piece of paper lay on the bed and caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't find it surprising in the slightest to find Cherry's loopy handwriting flowing down the page when he picked the crisp paper up.

_Scorpius, _

_I imagine that you think this decision was selfish on my part, which I suppose in many ways it was. I'm not ready for the kind of life I would have to lead in order to be Haven's mother, but that was not the only reason I'm doing what I am. You need the chance to be the great father, and boyfriend if things go well with Lily, that you were always meant to be. I leave my love and best wishes for both you and our daughter, and I hope you take this blessing for all that it is meant to be. _

_Until we meet again,_

_Cher._

Whatever anger that had built up inside of him upon Cherry's disappearance was now gone, leaving Scorpius shocked and grateful at the same time. A sacrifice as great as Cherry had offered was a true act of bravery that he would cherish for the rest of his life, and he would not hesitate to take the blonde's advice on taking an advantage of his situation.

Folding the letter into a tiny, neat square, the tall boy tucked it away into his pocket with every intention of sharing it with Haven when she grew older. Quickly slipping into the sterile hallway, Scorpius was surprised to see his friends standing at the other end, Haven bouncing happily in Roland's dark arms. The newborn may be missing the person that provided her with entrance into the world, but the family she was receiving instead would love her just as much, for as long as they all would live.

Lily forced a smile onto her face as she watched the blonde take his daughter away from Roland, and slip his large hand into her small one. Guilt from being the cause of so much hardship in the life of the man she loved threatened to overwhelm her every moment she was forced to be near him. She could only hope that the plastic smile that didn't quite reach her eyes was enough to keep the attention off of her.

But annoyingly observant Hugo caught on to the look right away, silently pointing it out to his tall boyfriend immediately. Anger at the redhead's dishonesty coursed through the dark boy, but Roland forced down the lump in his throat that was begging him to rat her out. Eventually, when she felt the time was right, she would tell Scorpius the truth about his mistress' disappearance.

Until then, Lily would be forced to live with the horrific weight the guilt would leave on her soul. Everyone but the tall blonde seemed to know this, yet the redhead wouldn't change her decision if it meant saving her love's sanity. It was simply the price she was being forced to pay.

* * *

><p>"I simply don't understand the appeal of leaving your family behind in order to visit a place so far away." Ronald Weasley paced beside the dining room table in his home, looking down at his daughter and nephew with furrowed eyebrows. "We need to discuss the other possibilities before we make any decisions. Don't you agree, Harry?"<p>

Before the other man could answer his best friend, Albus' spoke up with a voice that demanded the respect he felt he deserved now that he was officially an adult. "Forgive me for saying as much, Uncle Ron, but you're mistaken in your authority over the situation. Rose and I are the one's responsible for our decisions now, though we are more than willing to discuss the possibilities with you on an equal, respectful playing field."

Snorting loudly at her brother, Lily entered the bright room and lifted herself onto the kitchen counter. "I figured it would at least take a week before you started acting like a stuck-up jerk. Apparently my estimation was off." Hugo joined her on the marble countertop, sticking his tongue out at a grimacing Rose.

Albus jerked back in fake astonishment at the comment, "Don't you pretend to understand the delicate workings of adult life, little girl. Why, it's very important that every single detail be worked-" Watching the redhead make fun of him caused the brunette's temper to flare, but she didn't notice until her head was being hit by a hailstorm of bread chunks. "Grow up, Lillian."

Harry, who had been watching the entire affair with amusement, stepped between his brawling children just as Lily pulled out her wand. "Enough. Albus, we'll finish this conversation later. We need to talk, little one."

Following her father through their extremely full house, Lily winked at Scorpius as they passed the living room where he, Roland, and her mother were now fussing over Haven. The older man didn't speak until they were safely in his upstairs study, making the redhead think that she had done something wrong and her heartbeat to pick up speed.

"You aren't in trouble, Lily. Unless you've done something that would earn a punishment by me?" When his daughter didn't confess of any laws she had broken, Harry allowed himself to perch on the corner of his desk. "Your mother and I were talking, and I believe it's important that you understand the delicacy of the situation you're in."

Opening her mouth to ask for clarification, the redhead was cut off by an obviously-rehearsed speech. "While I find what you're doing to help Scorpius extremely thoughtful and mature, there are some important factors for you to take into consideration before you jump into a relationship that might affect your future. I'm well aware that what you share is love, but that can't cloud the fact that if someone has the audacity to cheat on you once, they will not hesitate to do it again.

"All I'm asking is for you to really think about the consequences of the actions he's already had to live with, and how they will affect you. If that boy has his way, Haven will grow up to recognize you as her mother for all intents and purpose. Do you understand where that could be an issue if something happened that would cause the two of you to split up?"

There was no point in mentioning that she was already aware of all of this. In fact, the last few months had consisted of her constantly thinking about what it would mean to step in as the mother of such a young child. Lily was also fully capable of realizing that although the situations she'd been forced into in the past year and a half were fit for adults, she was still only a sixteen year old girl in her final years of schooling. Determination settled over her features when she looked up into her father's green eyes. "We can do this. I love both of them enough to do whatever it takes to help out."

A small smile tilted the edge of Harry's mouth upward, "I'm well aware of the ability of a strong woman, especially a fiery one such as you."

* * *

><p>"Or that time when you pushed Hugo into the fountain at school, and all of his eyeliner slid down his face but he still went to class right after." Even Hugo had to laugh at Lily's recollection of the story, teasingly shoving his boyfriend for once being so mean to him. The three of them were sitting on the roof of the Potter house, watching the clouds float across the clear, darkening sky.<p>

Sighing with content, the redheaded boy leaned against Roland as silence fell over the small group of teenagers. It was now late June, and things had calmed down considerably within the large family, everyone finally comfortable around each other again. Even Scorpius, assisted by a substantial push from his best friend, had even made the effort to maintain a relationship with his parents, and had even taken Haven with him in order to introduce the older Malfoys to their granddaughter.

The blonde wouldn't be back from the frighteningly large mansion until late in the night, so Roland decided there would be no point in waiting for him to return after their family barbeque had come to an end. Shifting his weight onto his feet, the older boy helped Hugo up before leaning down and kissing Lily's cheek. "I think we're going to head out of here. We finally talked Ron into letting Hugo stay with me for a night or two. It's not like I'm going to be getting him pregnant anytime soon."

A loud giggle burst from Lily's mouth before she could stop it, "God, I hope not. I'm not babysitting for any more babies in the near future. Haven is a handful as it is, she doesn't need a partner in crime." Although the infant was still too young to move around, the small blonde had discovered the art of grasping objects and chucking them at her father's head, much to everyone's amusement.

"Hush, Lily. If I were you, I would worry about my own sex life." Before the shorter redhead could grasp her cousin's ankle, he slipped from the roof completely, followed closely by a chuckling Roland. This left Lily alone on the roof, not that she minded. With her decision to step up as the mother of Haven, seclusion, along with sleep, had flown out the window. So much had changed in just a few months that she had successfully matured beyond her years without even realizing it.

What she did manage to realize fairly quickly was the silent cocoon that surrounded her was calling for her to give in and fall into unconsciousness. To say she was quick to comply would be an understatement, for she didn't even bother crawling back into her room and out of humid night air before her breathing had already slowed to a steady hum.

* * *

><p>Ronald Weasley watched as his youngest child climbed into the passenger seat of his boyfriend's truck, a genuine smile causing his eyes to twinkle in the moon light. The older man couldn't keep the nausea from rolling through him like a tidal wave, his fingers clutching at the window frame he held within his large hands. Paranoia and concern for his son was becoming a recurring theme to his everyday life, and that wasn't something he enjoyed in the slightest.<p>

It wasn't even possible for him to hate the brunette man that had pulled his only son away from him, no matter how many times he tried his damnedest to pull those feelings out. Hermione had spoken to him about the situation time and time again, always the nagging cricket sitting in the back of his subconscious, that if Hugo was happy and wasn't being harmed, there was nothing to be done or said to change that. While he didn't exactly agree that the latter was being avoided, Ron refused to become the enemy of his children for the hundredth time in their lives. Besides, he already was being pinned against the wall with Rose's situation; he couldn't take on any more fights at the moment.

"I know that look. He's going to be fine, Ron. You raised him well, and now you have to step back and watch him carry out your lessons." Stepping up behind his best friend, Harry looked out as the rundown truck disappeared into the night. "We can't always be there to make sure they make the right decisions. Hell, sometimes I don't think I even know what that would be anymore."

Nodding in agreement, the redhead pressed his forehead to the smooth glass of the window. "That might be true, but it doesn't change the fact that I just let my sixteen year old son leave my sight with a man two years older. Who knows what they've done or what they plan to do even tonight. I don't even want to fathom what happens to kids their age when we aren't around."

Harry quickly picked up on the hidden meaning behind his words, "We were their age once, remember?"

"Yes, I remember. And that's exactly what I'm afraid of."

* * *

><p>Tiny pebbles tinkled against Elle's window as she slipped a pair of shorts over her toned legs, pushing her to peer carefully out at the yard so as to not show her undressed, water sprinkled torso. She was thrilled to see 'Manda leaning against the base of the large oak tree in the backyard. It had only been hours since the two girls had been together, yet the blonde felt her stomach flip with anticipation.<p>

Quickly slipping a black tank top over her small frame, the sixteen year old wasted no time in opening the window and scaling down the tree as she had so many times before. As her feet made contact with the ground, she was quickly pulled into a hungry kiss that would have made her lose her balance had she not been enveloped in 'Manda's strong arms.

When they pulled apart, Elle pressed her damp forehead against the taller girl's. "Are you going to tell me where we're going now? Or is it still a secret?" She wasn't surprised in the slightest bit by the mischievous grin that spread across 'Manda's face, telling her that she was right in her previous assumption. "Then let's go."

Luckily, a twenty minute drive out London was all Elle had to endure before she was included in the plan. Glistening ripples of water sparkled at the hidden lake they were standing before lapped at the "beach" of soft grass they stood on. Before the blonde could ask what they were doing at a lake in the middle of the night, 'Manda was quickly shucking clothing as she strode confidently towards the water, looking back at the shorter girl with a hungry look in her eyes.

"Oh this is going to be fun." She whispered to herself as she too began to pull off articles of clothing.

* * *

><p>Pulling her knees up to her chest in the passenger seat of 'Manda's car as they sat watching the moon slowly fade towards the horizon, Elle let out a content sigh of happiness. "I wish summer would never end. When we go back to school next year, this feeling of complete happiness won't be there anymore. There's no way we'll escape the teasing now that we're actually together."<p>

"Who gives a fuck?" 'Manda asked roughly, resting her head on the headrest of her seat and swiveling it to look at the smaller girl. "As long as I have you, I don't care what anyone thinks. Someone will always have something to hate you for, whether it's your sexual orientation or race or even haircut, so why give them the satisfaction of watching you sweat? Two years and this will all be over; two years and anything is possible. Hell, we could move somewhere far away and get married if we wanted. I've always wanted to visit America."

It took the blonde a moment to realize that in a round-about way, she had just been proposed to. Yet, she couldn't find it in herself to be frightened by the notion, no matter how sudden or out of the blue it had been. Turning to stare at the other girl confidently, she didn't hesitate in speaking her mind. "And what if that's exactly what I want? To run away with you to America and get married. Would you really drop everything to do that with me?"

Smiling knowingly at her best friend, 'Manda couldn't help but laugh. "I have nothing to lose, and everything in the world to gain. As long as I don't have to wear a dress to the ceremony, I'm game."

"Let's just say it won't be me who you have to fight on that. Hugo isn't one to listen to others' opinions." Elle, filled to the brink with happiness and pride in the love she shared with another, leaned forward and pressed her lips to the brunettes'. "I don't care if you wear anything at all." Which received an earnest chuckle in return.

* * *

><p>Flicking on the light directly inside the living room portion of his small flat, Roland allowed his thin jacket to slip from his shoulders and fall to the ground beside the door. He didn't wait to watch Hugo enter quickly after him, shutting the door once completely inside the apartment, and strode to the stove to put a pot of water on the fire in order to make tea. The brunette forced his heart to slow down to a normal speed, trying to forget the car ride he had just been subjected to.<p>

Sex wasn't something that the two boys had discussed in their relationship yet, though it was certainly a giant storm cloud just waiting to weep rain on their lives. But tonight, as the constant chatter that Hugo normally kept going faded into silence, they had both become keenly aware of the sexual tension that radiated from each other. Unsurprisingly, the younger boy had been the one to act first, seeing as Roland had been driving, and his thin hand had found it's way up his boyfriend's leg. Nothing else took place, his fingers pausing mid-thigh, but it was enough to open the floodgates to new thoughts of possible pleasure.

"Ro, look at me." Hugo stood a few feet away from the brunette, his large eyes filled with naïve concern as they met Roland's all knowing, hungry ones. "What's wr-" The question was silenced by warm lips as his body was lifted from the ground and he was placed on the kitchen counter.

As his hungry mouth tracked down the pale neck in front of him, the brunette finally found his voice again though it came out as a low growl. "I want you, Hugo. So much it hurts."

Wrapping his skinny jean clad legs around the muscular boy, the redhead couldn't respond before he was being carried from the living room and into the only bedroom in the apartment. The click of the door coming to a close rang through the teenager's head, pulling a grin to his face. _We're ready for this._

* * *

><p>The next morning, as light filtered in through the thin cotton curtains of the lone window in the room, Hugo was awoken by soft lips pressing to his neck repeatedly. Opening his eyes to Roland's smiling face, memories of the previous night came crashing back to him, but without any of the regret that he had once feared he would feel. It had been perfect, everything he had ever dreamed of, and he there was no shame in his eyes when they met the older boy's.<p>

"I love you so much." He only barely heard Roland's alike response before he drifted back to a blissful sleep filled with even more dreams of the brunette.

* * *

><p>Cooing at Haven lovingly as she lay her softly down in the crib her father had found in the garage, Lily pulled dark curtains shut against the invasive rays of the morning sunlight so the infant might finally quiet down enough to allow her father to sleep. Scorpius had only returned to the Potter home within an hour of when they would normally all pack up and attend church, earning both himself and Lily a reprieve for the week due to special circumstances.<p>

"I think she's all set, thank you for taking care of it." Having just gotten out of the shower before planning to retire to bed, Scorpius stood in the doorway to the makeshift nursery, his scruffy hair allowing droplets of water to slip down his bare chest. Lily sized him up openly, not shy in the slightest as her eyes raked over his toned torso and arms, eventually sliding down to where his loose fitting shorts hung low on his hips. "But it seems that she's not the only one that needs to be taken care of."

The redhead wasn't naïve in the slightest, so it was expected that an excited grin would split her face when she realized that the tall blonde was finally giving in to their deepest desires. "I'm not so sure that I would be talking if I were you." Crossing the room in two quick strides, Lily was confidently pushing Scorpius across the hall and onto the bed he had claimed as his own for the day. "You better not back down now, Malfoy. I won't hesitate to chew you up and spit you out."

Shivering with anticipation, Scorpius winked up at the mischievous woman above him. "I'm pretty sure that I'd like that just as much as you would. Come at me, Potter."

* * *

><p>A week later, the six teenagers sat on the bright green grass at the edge of the small pond in the northwestern corner of the Potter lot, each person soaking up the warmth that the afternoon sun provided them with. Haven was bouncing happily in Elle's lap as she gripped the girl's thin fingers, a toothless grin radiating even more warmth into the group.<p>

"Do you know what I can't figure out for the life of me? How could Cherry possibly leave this beautiful child behind for whatever sad life she's now living? And how could we have missed all the signs that she planned to abandon her? I just don't understand." As Elle asked each question, her perfect eyebrows pulled together in confusion, yet she was completely oblivious to the uncomfortable shifts of her friends' bodies.

Catching eyes with Roland, Hugo bit his lip against the thoughts of betrayal begging to escape him and set the blonde's questions to rest. Because Lily _had _realized what was going on with the pregnant girl long before she had acted on her feelings, yet had done nothing to stop her from leaving. At the very least, he felt that she should have told Scorpius about the girl's plans, but that decision wasn't up to him. So the two gay teens kept quiet, not indulging in Elle's mindless ramblings.

However, after a month of irregular sleep patterns, Lily wasn't at the peak of her intelligence and inserted her foot into her mouth the moment she opened it. "Honestly, it wouldn't have been that difficult to realize what she planned to do. Cherry was detaching herself from Haven the moment she realized that Scorpius didn't love her back; not that there was anything for anyone to do about her decision once it was made, so why dwell on the past."

Mouth flying open at his cousin's lapse of judgment, Hugo tried to form the words to protect her from the explosion that was bound to come, but didn't have time before Scorpius flew up from his position lying on the grass comfortably. "What the hell do you mean there was nothing to do? We could have changed her mind before she left! You knew what she was up to and didn't tell me?"

"No! Well, yes, but she was so unhappy and I knew that things would work out so much better if she wasn't around and in the way." Lily scrambled to her feet quickly as Scorpius rose to his, his icy blue eyes filled with flames of fury at the realization that he had been betrayed. "Please don't look at me that way. She didn't want to be stopped, Scorpius! Scorpius, where are you going?"

The blonde had turned away in disgust and was now stalking away from the silent group of teenagers, leaving Haven crying in Elle's arms. "I need to get away from you before I do something I regret. I can't believe you'd do this to me, just when I really thought you loved me." He didn't stop walking until he was safely inside of his car, quickly wheeling out of the driveway and away from a hysterically screaming redhead being restrained by his best friend's thick arms.

_Why do things always have to fall to shit just when I think they're getting better?_

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! I'm really not sure when the next chapter will be up, and I don't want to make any false promises, so just keep checking back for more! I'd really appreciate getting reviews. They keep me motivated and that's what I really need right now. Thank you again for reading.<strong>


	12. Chapter Twelve: Somebody That I Used To

**Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been a little while since I posted last, but since I don't think that there will be too many more chapters, I'm trying to drag out the time before I have to part with this story. As always, please reviews. Thank you for reading!**

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><p><em><span>Chapter Twelve: Somebody That I Used To Know (Gotye)<span>_

Watching Roland bounce Haven in his lap from across the room, Lily sighed before dropping her head into her hands. The other four teenagers that had been present to Scorpius' eruption were lounging around her living room, each of them secretly observing her face steadily fall as worry etched itself into her features. Scorpius had been gone for almost three hours, not bothering to even call and say that he was okay.

As if sensing the tension in the room growing, Haven's tiny face suddenly crumpled and loud wails began to burst forth from her tiny frame. The tall brunette that was holding her tried to calm her down, but his frantic whispers only caused the volume of her cries to grow. Lily, knowing immediately how to silence the infant but not having the energy to do so, pulled two couch pillows up to swallow her head and plunge her into silence.

"What in God's name- Oh, sweetie! It's okay, I've got you." Lifting her proclaimed granddaughter out of Roland's arms, Ginny cooed the tiny blonde into a soft slumber. Before retreating from the room with the baby, the older woman nodded towards her cowering daughter. "Perhaps comforting her would be a wiser choice than allowing her to wallow in regret and self pity. Food for thought, don't you think."

Hugo didn't feel the need to mention that this had already been tried, but that the thin redhead has physically pushed Elle off of the edge of the couch before she could make much progress. There was no point in pushing support onto his cousin when she clearly didn't want it, and he clearly did not feel as though it would be necessary to give. While he didn't like to see the couple fighting, yet again, the topic over which Scorpius was angry at was simply ridiculous.

Sure, Lily could have mentioned a few times that she knew what Cherry had been planning, but what good would it have done? If he had successfully found the means to trap her into a family, the resentment over being held captive would have eaten at her until she exploded. But for Scorpius to take off into the night like a bat out of hell, just because he was angry that his baby mama had bailed, pushed him back to having the maturity of a first year. Yet, Lily was still his best friend, so he slowly moved to sit beside her and rest his hand on her rigid shoulder.

Turning her head to snap that she wanted to be left alone, the redhead was cut off by the loud revving of an engine near the front yard. When she peered out from behind the thick curtains, Lily wasn't in the least bit shocked to see Scorpius leaning against his shiny car, obviously waiting for her to join him. As she turned to explain to Hugo what was going on, he shook his head and pushed her towards the door. It was good to know that some things never changed, and that he would always know exactly what she planned to do before even she did.

The moment her sneakers hit the gravel of the driveway, Scorpius slid smoothly into the driver's seat and leaned over to unlock her door. She refused to get in right away, not wanting for him to expect her sudden compliance with whatever he chose to do. Noticing this after a moment of waiting, the blonde leaned across the seat to look at her and sighed. "I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but I needed to calm down. Now if you'll kindly get into the car, we can go for a ride and talk about things like civilized adults. Deal?"

Judging by the loud slam of the door shutting behind her and the stony expression of her face, it became clear that most of the talking would be one sided. This was going to be a lovely car ride.

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><p>It was simply too quiet in the Potter household for Roland's liking, and it wasn't for the lack of people home. Since Lily had escaped the peach colored living room to hash things out with Scorpius, the two gay couples were the only ones left in the completely silent room. Elle and 'Manda were curled up together in a loveseat positioned in front of a window overlooking the darkness of the front yard. Neither of them spoke, even in whispers, but their fingers twisted together and apart with anxiety. Hugo had slumped down in the corner of the room, his arms around his knees and his eyes counting the small tiles of the ceiling. In the brief moments before the group had become quiet again, the redhead had whispered to no one in particular that he had a very bad feeling about the evening's upcoming events.<p>

However, Roland didn't want his thin boyfriend to expand on his thoughts; for fear that they might become truth, so he said nothing in return. Now he set with his elbows on his knees, staring at the scuffed toes of his tennis shoes. From somewhere in the house, Haven could be heard giggling happily at whatever faces Ginny was making in order to keep her calm. It was as if there was an impending doom settling over the family; one that no one could place, but that still felt real enough to send chills up Roland's back.

After ten more minutes of silence, the brunette couldn't take it anymore and jumped to his feet in defiance. "I really should be getting home. Are you coming with me or staying here until Lily gets back?" It was obvious who the question was directed towards, and Hugo turned to look at the digital clock on the fireplace mantle. It read 10:48 in bright blue numbers against the dark marble wall piece.

"I'm sure they're both fine, and we'll see them in the morning. There's no point in waiting up when they'll probably just make up and go back to his place for the night." Even as he spoke the words, Hugo could feel the lie within them. He simply couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong, but he rose to his feet and followed his boyfriend through the quiet house after saying goodbye to Elle and 'Manda, who were also leaving.

Before they could escape out of the door, Ron entered the foyer to block their path. Hugo was surprised to see that his father was still up at this hour of the night, much less out and about, but he didn't say anything about how unusual it was. Nodding towards his son, the older redhead met Roland's wary eyes briefly. "I assume that you were heading to your apartment rather than to bring him home?" The brunette opened his mouth to defend himself tiredly, but was cut off by a shake of the older man's head. "It was just an observation. I was simply wandering if, perhaps, I could be the one to drive him. I need to talk with him."

It was strange for a father to be asking for permission to talk to his son, but Roland granted him with it anyway. Kissing the younger boy briefly, the brunette jumped off of the porch and out into the newly pouring rain, leaving the two men standing together awkwardly in the doorway.

Gesturing towards the small station wagon parked on the deserted street, Ron followed his son silently to the vehicle and allowed the engine to roar to life loudly. Out in the late night countryside, there weren't very many objects of interest and both men were aware that they could never agree on music, so the radio stayed silent too. After half of the thirty minute trip to Roland's apartment, Hugo grew anxious that the awkwardness would last forever.

"You asked to talk to me, Dad. How am I supposed to start the conversation when I don't know what you wanted to discuss?" Taking a long look at his father's pained face, it suddenly became clear that the topic was sure to be even more awkward than the silence. "This is about me being gay, isn't it? You never got the chance to yell at me or scold me or whatever it is you plan to do. Well, get on with it then."

If the sudden turning of the tables surprised Ron, he didn't let it show. Nodding slowly, the older man's eyes narrowed at the windshield. "I wasn't exactly planning to scold you at all, actually. If you'd prefer that, I certainly don't want to disappoint." He waited for Hugo to answer, but when he didn't, cleared his throat softly. "You're partially right about one thing. I feel as though I never got the chance to come to terms with your homosexuality.

"Things were moving so quickly, our family seems to accumulate dramatic situations like magnets, but I've been thinking about how I would feel if my father reacted badly to something I felt so strongly about. I don't want to be the type of parent that causes his children to despise him for throwing his weight around. I already feel as though I'm losing Rose to an entirely different country, but I refuse to lose you too." When the older redhead paused to take a deep breath, Hugo noticed that his large hands were clutching the steering wheel in a vice grip. "So even though I don't know how I feel about you being gay, I won't stand in your way. That's all I wanted to say."

Even though it wasn't exactly what Hugo had hoped his father would say, he accepted the effort graciously. "Thanks, Dad. I'll try not to embarrass you too much from now on." Turning to look out the window, he shot his father a smile through the reflection of the glass.

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><p>As 'Manda pulled her car into the alley behind Elle's mansion of a house, she quickly realized that the large Suburban that belonged to the blonde's parents was gone. They shared a look of suspicion before Elle jumped from the car and ran to the back door where she could see a slip of paper fluttering in the late evening breeze. Reading it quickly, she ran back to the car with a silly grin on her face.<p>

"Mum and Dad went to downtown London for a date night because they didn't think that I would be home. They won't be home for at least a few more hours. Go park your car around the corner and hurry back." She didn't wait for her girlfriend to respond for fear that she would argue how dangerously risky it would be, instead skipping happily towards the gigantic, looming house.

When 'Manda returned to the familiar home, Elle wasn't downstairs like she had expected but there was a steady thumping of bass coming from her upstairs bedroom. Nerves on end because of the dangerously risky situation, the taller girl crept silently up the stairs and leaned against the doorjamb of the open bedroom door. She watched as the blonde, now in thin pajama pants and a tank top, float around the room picking up clothing that she had flung this way and that when getting ready.

Stooping to pick up the pair of jeans at 'Manda's feet, Elle smiled up at her girlfriend happily. "Well we have the whole house to ourselves, what do you want to do?" The girls lay themselves side by side on the massive bed in the center of the room, staring up at the poster-covered ceiling like they had done millions of times while growing up.

It was hard to believe that it had been months since they had been at ease in a room so familiar that it brought a flurry of memories to the mind. That was the life that they had chose however, when their friendship had become a romance. At least, that's what 'Manda was telling herself as she allowed Elle to curl up and snooze happily beside her. But that wasn't true, was it? Roland and Hugo didn't have to hide, didn't _want _to hide, from who they were and who they loved.

Hiding equates a sense of shame about who you love or who you choose to be in your life, but 'Manda didn't feel shameful in the least. Slowly, as she began to realize all the things wrong with the way she things had been going in her life, fury began to build within her. Her face flushed and her hands began to shake as waves of embarrassment crashed over her. This wasn't a secret, romantic love that was going to last throughout the years to come. This was Elle's way of getting what she wanted without having to deal with the consequences of doing what her heart told her to.

Just as the brunette was turning to accuse her of such, the grating sound of a door being unlocked and opened sounded from downstairs. 'Manda froze, her eyes bulging out of her head. This could not be happening. She had known better than to stick around, that was the one thing that she never did just in case something like this happened. Beside her, Elle was sleeping soundly, not aware that her parents were about to bust them together and that everything would be ruined.

Leaning over and placing her hand firmly on the blonde's mouth, the larger girl shook her awake with her free hand. Before Elle could even make a sound around the hand, she heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs and her eyes bugged out to match her girlfriend's. The brunette felt a sudden urge to run away, to throw herself from the second story window if it meant getting to the safety of her car, but she couldn't move any more than Elle could.

So both girls were simply sitting in the center of the bed when Elle's parents entered the room, her father tripping over his own feet as he noticed the additional girl. "What the hell is going on here? I told you to never, ever speak to her again and she's sitting in your room like she belongs here?" Elle's father had a habit of never speaking directly to 'Manda, even when the girls were allowed to be friends, for he had never been much of a fan of the tall brunette. "I demand to know what makes you think that you can bring her into my home."

Elle winced with each word now that his voice had risen to a yell, and looked hopefully at her frail mother, who stood frozen in the doorway behind her husband. The older woman avoided her eyes quickly and disappeared into the dark hallway silently. When 'Manda realized that the blonde wasn't going to speak up for either of them, she rose to her feet to better look the old man in the eyes. "Perhaps if you would direct your questions at the person you really want to know about, you might get the answers that you are looking for."

Large, blotches of red broke out across Elle's father's face and neck as he contemplated doing as she had suggested. She didn't wait for him to though, she already understood what he wanted to know. "I'm here, because she loves me and I'm her girlfriend. You can be mad all you want and kick me out like you plan to do, but that doesn't mean she'll listen to what you have to say. I'll keep coming back to see her and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Get out." The words weren't unexpected, but the source of them was. Shocked, 'Manda turned to look at the tiny blonde that had spoken the words so surely, that they actually sounded like the command she had meant for them to be. She didn't do as she was told, but simply allowed her mouth to open and close repeatedly in disbelief. "I said get out, Amanda."

The use of her full name was like a slap in the face, physically knocking her backwards a few feet. "What do you mean 'get out'? You can't honestly take his side after everything he's done to keep us apart. Not when he won't let you see me again after this. You can't-"

"She can, and she will. My daughter is obviously sick of being around you or she wouldn't be asking for you to leave. She has obviously come to the realization that you are, and have always been, trash that is waiting to be thrown out. Now you can either leave our home of your own free will, or I can call the police to escort you."

Amanda's large brown eyes skipped between Elle and her father for the briefest of moments, before she set her jaw and nodded. "I'll leave. But please tell your daughter whatever relationship we thought we had is over. That maybe when she has the guts to stick up for what she believes in, she'll finally be happy with someone." And then the tall brunette was sprinting down the stairs and out into the humid air of the mid-summer night, a pair of watery blue eyes watching her from the upstairs window.

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><p>"How did you justify lying to me?" Scorpius' voice was too sharp, cutting the silence in the car like a knife. His beautiful face was smoothed out into a look of indifference, but the words held layers of emotion in them that made Lily's head spin. "Did you not think that I might need to know that I'd be raising a week old infant by myself for the next eighteen years? I would never lie to you about something that would affect your life."<p>

It took so much self control for Lily to not spit at him that he had already done just that. That his choice to be deceitful and lie to her had resulted in Haven, in the entire situation surrounding their lives with despair. But she forced herself to be the adult that they both needed around, and kept her mouth shut so he could continue.

Snorting with fake humor, the blonde sped up to sixty five on a forty mile-per-hour rode. "I suppose you're going to tell me that you had some really good reason to do it, right? When in reality, you were probably only thinking about paying me back for cheating on you. I've apologized to you more times than I can count and you still hold it above my head like at any moment you'll use it to destroy me or control me."

Gritting her teeth together and rubbing her jean clad legs furiously, Lily shook her head to clear the angry tears rising up in her eyes. He noticed the signs of her anger building, and wanted it to build up and boil over. If their relationship was going to end, it was going to be the way that it had started. Hatred filled yelling. "Or were you worried that I was going to leave you for her? I'd already fucked her once. Why wouldn't I do it again, right?"

"Shut the _hell _up, Malfoy. I was trying to protect you, you merciless, heartless asshole! I was-" Right as she had begun yelling, Scorpius had yanked the steering wheel sharply, throwing his speeding car around a corner and into the path of a giant truck. "SCORPIUS." The moment the words had left her mouth, he yanked the wheel to the right and sent the car deep into the woods surrounding the highway. Thunderous screeching of tires drowned out the horrific screams erupting from the helpless teenagers through their journey into the darkness. Tree limbs and chunks of dirt were flung into the windows of the car, Scorpius' torso flung forward towards the steering wheel, and Lily was shoved into the unforgiving door.

Blinking hard to push back the black spots dancing across her field of vision, Lily turned her head to look at Scorpius, only partially aware that they were closer to each other than they should be. As the darkness enveloped her, she watched a saddened shadow of Scorpius' signature grin flit across his face.

"I guess it's good that we left Haven with your mum, huh?"

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><p><strong>What did you think? Sorry this wasn't up very soon but I was working out how to end it. This isn't the end, so don't freak out! Leave reviews please! Thanks!<strong>


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